KING'S  CUTTERS        ]_ 

—-m^j^  SMUGGLERS 


m^M 


m. 


m 


■•^\ 


m^t^  .^^ 


.«•' '. 


E.  KEBLE  CHATTERTON 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Commodore  Byron  Mc Candle ss 


KING'S  GUTTERS  AND  SMUGGLERS 


i>:i-;vKxrH;  ckuiskk  chasing  smuggling  liggek. 

Hcl'iire  tirin^i  on  a  smusfgler  the  cruiser  was  bound  to  hoist  his  Revenue  colours 
^hoth  pennant  and  ensign — no  matter  whether  day  or  night. 

(Fio)ii  fill'  oriiiiiiiil  juiinthia  /'y  Chmlfs  Dixon.  K  I  > 


KING'S   CUTTERS 
AND   SMUGGLERS 

1700-1855 


BY 


E.  KEBLE   CHATTERTON 

AUTHOR  OF   "SAILING  SUIPS  AND  THEIR  STORY,"   "THE  ROMANCE  OF  THE  SHIP' 
"THE  STORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  NAVY,"   "FORE  AND  AFT,"  ETC. 


WITH  33  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  FRONTISPIECE  IN  COLOURS 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 

LONDON;  GEORGE  ALLEN   &  COMPANY,  LTD. 
1912 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  &'  Co. 
At  the  Ballantyne  Press,  Edinburgh 


6^07 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  in  the  following  pages  endeavoured  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  weave  a  web  of  pleasant 
but  unreliable  fiction  round  actual  occurrences. 
That  which  is  here  set  forth  has  been  derived  from 
facts,  and  in  almost  every  case  from  manuscript 
records.  It  aims  at  telling  the  story  of  an  event- 
ful and  exciting  period  according  to  historical  and 
not  imaginative  occurrence.  There  are  extant 
many  novels  and  short  stories  which  have  for  their 
heroes  the  old-time  smugglers.  But  the  present 
volume  represents  an  effort  to  look  at  these  ex- 
ploits as  they  were  and  not  as  a  novelist  likes  to 
think  they  might  have  occurred. 

Perhaps  there  is  hardly  an  Englishman  who  was 
not  thrilled  in  his  boyhood  days  by  Marryat  and 
others  when  they  wrote  of  the  King's  Cutters  and 
their  foes.  It  is  hoped  that  the  following  pages 
will  not  merely  revive  pleasant  recollections  but 
arouse  a  new  interest  in  the  adventures  of  a 
species  of  sailing  craft  that  is  now,  like  the 
brig  and  the  fine  old  clipper-ship,  past  and  done 
with. 

The  reader  will  note  that  in  the  Appendices  a 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

considerable  amount  of  interesting  data  has  been 
collected.  This  has  been  rendered  possible  only 
with  great  difficulty,  but  it  is  believed  that  in 
future  years  the  dimensions  and  details  of  a 
Revenue  Cutter's  construction,  the  sizes  of  her 
spars,  her  tonnage,  guns,  &c.,  the  number  of  her 
crew  carried,  the  names  and  dates  of  the  fleets 
of  cutters  employed  will  have  an  historical  value 
which  cannot  easily  be  assessed  in  the  present  age 
that  is  still  familiar  with  sailing  craft. 

In  making  researches  for  the  preparation  of  this 
volume  I  have  to  express  my  deep  sense  of  grati- 
tude to  the  Honourable  Commissioners  of  the 
Board  of  Customs  for  granting  me  permission  to 
make  use  of  their  valuable  records  ;  to  Mr.  F. 
S.  Parry  C.B.,  Deputy  Chairman  of  the  Board  for 
his  courtesy  in  placing  a  vast  amount  of  data  in 
my  hands,  and  for  having  elucidated  a  good  many 
points  of  difficulty;  and,  finally,  to  Mr.  Henry 
Atton,  Librarian  of  the  Custom  House,  for  his 
great  assistance  in  research. 

E.  KEBLE  CHAITERTON. 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  Introduction 
II.  The  Earliest  Smugglers 

III,  The  Growth  of  Smuggling 

IV.  The  Smugglers'  Methods    . 
V.  The  Havvkhurst  Gang 

VI.  The  Revenue  Cruisers 
VII,  Cutters  and  Sloops    . 
VIII.   Preventive  Organisation     . 
IX.  Cutters'  Equipment     . 
X,  The  Increase  in  Smuggling 
XI.  The  Smugglers  at  Sea 
XII.  The  Work  of  the  Cutters 

XIII,  The  Period  of  Ingenuity  . 

XIV.  Some  Interesting  Encounters 
XV,  A  Tragic  Incident 

XVI.  Administrative  Reforms 
XVII.  Smuggling  by  Concealments 
XVIII.  By  Sea  and  Land 
XIX,  Action  and  Counter-Action 
XX.   Force  and  Cunning    . 


APPENDICES 


PAOK 
1 

40 
56 
82 
94 

121 
1S8 
137 
182 
199 
215 
239 
257 
276 
295 
320 
339 
361 
379 

403 


vn 


90 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES 

Revenue  Cruiser  chasing  Smuggling  Lugger    Colour  frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

A  Representation  of  ye  Smugglers  breaking   open  ye 

King's  Custom  House  at  Poole       ....       86 
Mr.    Galley   and    Mr.    Chater    put   by   ye   Smugglers 

on  one  Horse  near  Rowland  Castle      ...       88 
Galley    and     Chater    falling    off    their    Horse     at 

WOODASH  .........      88a 

Chater  Chained  in  ye  Turff  House  at  Old  Mills's    .       89 
Chater   hanging   at   the    Well    in    Lady    Holt   Park/ 

THE  Bloody  Villains  Standing  by  . 
The    Bloody    Smugglers    flinging    down    Stones   after 

THEY    had    flung    HIS    DeAD    BoDY    INTO    THE    WeLL      ._ 

H.M.  Cutter  "  Wickham,"  commanded  by  Captain  John 

FuLLARTON,   R.N.  .......        178 

H.M.  Cutter  "Wickham" 179 


IN   TEXT 

PAQB 

"  Dow  SENT  HIS  Mate  and  ten  Men  on  board  her  "  .  72 
"  Came    charging    down    .    .    .    striking    her    on    the 

Quarter"  .  .         .  .  .  .  .  .102 

''■  A  great  Crowd  of  infuriated   People  came  down  to 

THE  Beach"      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .187 

"The    'Flora'     with     the     '  Fisgard/     '  Wasso,'     and 

'  Nymph  '  " 202 

ix 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

"  The    '  Cahomne  '     continukd    her     Course    and    pro-     ^^^^ 
CEEDEH  TO   London"  ......     211 

How  THE  Deal  Boatmen  used  to  Smuggle  Tea  Ashore     213 
"  I'he   '  Badger  '   was   Hoisting   up  the   Galley    in    the 

RlG01N(i ~"^ 

"  FiUE  AND  be  Damned  " 278 

The  Sandwich  Device 314 

The  Sloop  "Lucy"  showing  Concealments     .  .  .     324 

Cask  for  Smuggling  Cider      ......     326 

The    Smack    "Tam    O'Shanter"    showing    Method    of 

Concealment     ........     329 

Flat-Bottomed  Boat  found  off  Selsey  ....     332 

Plan  of  the  Schooner  "  Good  Intent  "  showing  Method 

OF  Smuggling  Casks  .......     334 

The  Schooner  "Spartan"      ......     336 

Deck    Plan    and    Longitudinal    Plan    of    the    "Lord 

Rivers" 337 

"  The    Cruiser's    Guns    had    shot    away    the     Mizzen- 

Mast"       ...  348 

"The  'Admiral  Hood'  was  heaving  Tubs  Overboard"      358 
"Getting    a    Firm    Grip,    pushed    him    ,    .    ,    into    the 

Water"    .........     365 

"  Let's  .  .  .  have  him  over  the  Cliff  "...     373 
"  Under  Cover  of  Darkness  took  on  Board  .  .  .  Forty 

Bales  of  Silk  ".......     377 

"Another  Shot  was  Fired"  .....     383 

Methods  employed  by  Smugglers  for  Anchoring  Tubs 

thrown  Overboard  .......     385 

The  "Rival's"  Ingenious  Device    .....     392 

"  Taken  Completely  by  Surprise  "  ....     398 


King's  Cutters  ^  Smugglers 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTION 

Outside  pure  Naval  history  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  any  period  so  full  of  incident  and  contest 
as  that  which  is  covered  by  the  exploits  of  the 
English  Preventive  Service  in  their  effiarts  to 
deal  with  the  notorious  and  dangerous  bands  of 
smugglers  which  at  one  time  were  a  terrible 
menace  to  the  trade  and  welfare  of  our  nation. 

As  we  shall  see  from  the  following  pages, 
their  activities  covered  many  decades,  and  indeed 
smuggling  is  not  even  to-day  dead  nor  ever  will 
be  so  long  as  there  are  regulations  which  human 
ingenuity  can  occasionally  outwit.  But  the  grand, 
adventurous  epoch  of  the  smugglers  covers  little 
more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  beginning  about 
the  year  1700  and  ending  about  1855  or  1860. 
Nevertheless,  within  that  space  of  time  there  are 
crowded  in  so  much  adventure,  so  many  exciting 
escapes,  so  many  fierce  encounters,  such  clever 
moves    and   counter-moves :   there   are   so   many 

A 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

thousands  of  people  concerned  in  the  events,  so 
many  craft  employed,  and  so  much  money  ex- 
pended that  the  story  of  the  smugglers  possesses 
a  right  to  be  ranked  second  only  to  those  larger 
battles  between  two  or  more  nations. 

Everyone  has,  even  nowadays,  a  sneaking  re- 
gard for  the  smugglers  of  that  bygone  age,  an 
instnict  that  is  based  partly  on  a  curious  human 
failing  and  partly  on  a  keen  admiration  for  men 
of  dash  and  daring.  There  is  a  sympathy,  some- 
how, with  a  class  of  men  who  succeeded  not  once 
but  hundreds  of  times  in  setting  the  law  at  de- 
fiance ;  who,  in  spite  of  all  the  resources  of  the 
Government,  were  not  easily  beaten.  In  the 
novels  of  James,  Marry  at,  and  a  host  of  lesser 
writers  the  smuggler  and  the  Preventive  man 
have  become  familiar  and  standard  types,  and 
there  are  very  few,  surely,  who  in  the  days  of 
their  youth  have  not  enjoyed  the  breathless  ex- 
citement of  some  story  depicting  the  chasing  of 
a  contraband  lugger  or  watched  vicariously  the 
landing  of  the  tubs  of  spirits  along  the  pebbly 
beach  on  a  night  when  the  moon  never  showed 
herself.  But  most  of  these  were  fiction  and  little 
else.  Even  Marryat,  though  he  was  for  some 
time  actually  engaged  in  Revenue  duty,  is  now 
known  to  have  been  inaccurate  and  loose  in  some 
of  his  stories.  Those  who  have  followed  after- 
wards have  been  scarcely  better. 

However,  there   is   nothing   in   the   following 


INTRODUCTION 

pages  which  belongs  to  fiction.  Every  effort  has 
been  made  to  set  forth  only  actual  historical  facts, 
which  are  capable  of  verification,  so  that  what 
is  herein  contained  represents  not  what  might 
have  happened  but  actually  did  take  place.  To 
write  a  complete  history  of  smuggling  would  be 
well-nigh  impossible,  owing  to  the  fact  that,  un- 
happily through  fire  and  destruction,  many  of  the 
records,  which  to-day  would  be  invaluable,  have 
long  since  perished.  The  burning  down  of  the 
Customs  House  by  the  side  of  the  Thames  in 
1814  and  the  inappreciation  of  the  right  value  of 
certain  documents  by  former  officials  have  caused 
so  desirable  a  history  to  be  impossible  to  be 
written.  Still,  happily,  there  is  even  now  a  vast 
amount  of  material  in  existence,  and  the  present 
Commissioners  of  the  Board  of  Customs  are  using 
every  effort  to  preserve  for  posterity  a  mass  of 
data  connected  with  this  service. 

Owing  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Commissioners  it 
has  been  my  good  fortune  to  make  careful 
researches  through  the  documents  which  are  con- 
cerned with  the  old  smuggling  days,  the  Revenue 
cutters,  and  the  Preventive  Service  generally ;  and 
it  is  from  these  pages  of  the  past  and  from 
other  sources  that  I  have  been  enabled  to  put  forth 
the  story  as  it  is  here  presented ;  and  as  such  it 
represents,  an  attempt  to  afford  an  authentic  pic- 
ture of  an  extremely  interesting  and   an  equally 

exciting   period  of  our   national  history,  to  show 

3 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

the  conditions  of  the  smuggHng  industry  from  the 
sevcntecntli  to  the  nineteenth  century,  and  the 
efforts  to  put  a  stop  to  the  same.  We  shall  soon 
find  that  this  period  in  its  glamour,  romance,  and 
adventure  contains  a  good  deal  of  similarity  to 
the  great  seafaring  Elizabethan  epoch.  The  ships 
were  different,  but  the  courage  of  the  English  sea- 
men was  tlie  same.  Nor  must  we  forget  that  those 
rouo'h,  rude  men  who  ran  backwards  and  forwards 
across  the  English  Channel  in  cutters,  yawls, 
luggers,  and  sometimes  open  boats,  stiffened  with 
a  rich  ballast  of  tea,  tobacco,  and  brandy,  were 
some  of  the  finest  seamen  in  the  world,  and  cer- 
tainly the  most  skilful  fore-and-aft  sailors  and 
efficient  pilots  to  be  found  anywhere  on  the  seas 
which  wash  the  coasts  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
They  were  sturdy  and  strong  of  body,  courageous 
and  enterprising  of  nature,  who  had  "  used "  the 
sea  all  their  lives.  Consequently  the  English 
Government  wisely  determined  that  in  all  cases 
of  an  encounter  with  smugglers  the  first  aim  of 
the  Preventive  officers  should  be  to  capture  the 
smugglers  themselves,  for  they  could  be  promptly 
impressed  into  the  service  of  the  Navy  and  be 
put  to  the  good  of  the  nation  instead  of  being 
to  the  latter's  disadvantage. 

As  everyone  familiar  with  the  sea  is  aware,  the 
seamanship  of  the  square-rigged  vessel  and  of  the 
fore-and-aft  is  very  different.  The  latter  makes 
special  demands  of  its  own  which,  for  the  present, 


INTRODUCTION 

we  need  not  go  into.  But  we  may  assert  with 
perfect  confidence  that  at  its  best  the  handhng  of 
the  King's  cutters  and  the  smugghng  craft,  the 
chasing  and  chiding  in  all  weathers,  the  strategy 
and  tactics  of  both  parties  form  some  of  the  best 
chapters  in  nautical  lore.  The  great  risks  that 
were  run,  the  self-confidence  and  coolness  dis- 
played indicated  quite  clearly  that  our  national 
seafaring  spirit  was  not  yet  dead.  To-day 
many  descendants  of  these  old  smugglers  rem.ain 
our  foremost  fore-and-aft  sailors,  yet  engaged  no 
longer  in  an  illicit  trade  but  in  the  more  peace- 
ful pursuits  of  line  fishermen,  oyster  dredging, 
trawling  during  the  winter,  and  often  shipping  as 
yachts'  hands  during  the  summer. 

But  because  we  are  to  read  fact  and  not  fiction 
we  shall  scarcely  find  the  subject  inferior  in  interest. 
Truth  often  enough  is  stranger,  and  some  of  the 
tricks  and  devices  employed  by  the  smuggling 
communities  may  well  surprise  us.  And  while 
we  shall  not  make  any  vain  attempt  to  whitewash 
a  class  of  men  who  were  lawless,  reckless,  and 
sometimes  even  brutal  in  their  efforts,  yet  we 
shall  not  hesitate  to  give  the  fullest  prominence 
to  the  great  skill  and  downright  cleverness  of  a 
singularly  virile  and  unique  kind  of  British  man- 
hood. In  much  the  same  way  as  a  spectator  looks 
on  at  a  fine  sporting  contest  between  two  able 
foes,  we  shall  watch  the  clashing  exploits  of  the 
King's  men  and  the  smugglers.     Sometimes  the 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

one  side  wins,  sometimes  the  other,  but  nearly 
always  there  is  a  splendidly  exciting  tussle  before 
either  party  can  claim  victory. 

No  one  who  has  not  examined  tlie  authentic 
records  of  this  period  can  appreciate  how  powerful 
the  smugglers  on  sea  and  land  had  become.  The 
impudence  and  independence  of  some  of  the 
former  were  amazing.  We  shall  give  instances  in 
due  course,  but  for  the  present  we  might  take  the 
case  of  the  Revenue  cutter  which,  after  giving 
chase  to  a  smuggling  vessel,  came  up  to  the  latter. 
Shots  were  exchanged,  but  the  smuggler  turned 
his  swivel  guns  on  to  the  Government  craft  with 
such  a  hot  effect  that  the  Revenue  captain  deemed 
it  prudent  to  give  up  the  light  and  hurry  away  as 
fast  as  possible,  after  which  the  positions  were 
reversed  and  the  smuggler  actually  chased  the 
Revenue  cutter!  In  fact  during  the  year  1777 
one  of  the  Customs  officials  wrote  sadly  to  the 
Board  that  there  was  a  large  lugger  off  the  coast, 
and  so  well  armed  that  she  was  "  greatly  an  over- 
match "  for  even  two  of  the  Revenue  cruisers.  It 
seems  almost  ludicrous  to  notice  a  genuine  and 
unquestionable  report  of  a  smuggling  vessel  com- 
ing into  a  bay,  finding  a  Revenue  cruiser  lying 
quietly  at  anchor,  and  ordering  the  cruiser,  with  a 
fine  flow  of  oaths,  immediately  to  cut  his  cable 
and  clear  out ;  otherwise  the  smugglers  promised 
to  sink  her.     The   Revenue   cutter's   commander 

did  not  cut  his  cable,  but  in  truth  he  had  to  get 

6 


INTRODUCTION 

his  anchor  up  pretty  promptly  and  clear  out  as 
he  was  told. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  year  1815  that  the 
Government  began  seriously  to  make  continuous 
headway  in  its  efforts  to  cope  with  the  smuggling 
evil.  Consider  the  times.  Between  the  years 
1652  and  1816  there  were  years  and  years  of  wars 
by  land  or  by  sea.  There  were  the  three  great 
Anglo-Dutch  wars,  the  wars  with  France,  with 
Spain,  to  say  nothing  of  the  trouble  with  America. 
They  were  indeed  anxious  years  that  ended  only 
with  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  and  it  was  not  likely 
that  all  this  would  in  any  way  put  a  stop  to  that 
restlessness  which  was  unmistakable.  Wages 
were  low,  provisions  were  high,  and  the  poorer 
classes  of  those  days  had  by  no  means  all  the 
privileges  possessed  to-day.  Add  to  this  the  un- 
doubted fact  that  literally  for  centuries  there  had 
lived  along  the  south  coast  of  England,  especially 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  old  Cinque  ports,  a 
race  of  men  who  were  always  ready  for  some 
piratical  or  semi-piratical  sea  exploit.  It  was  in 
their  blood  to  undertake  and  long  for  such  enter- 
prises, and  it  only  wanted  but  the  opportunity  to 
send  them  roving  the  seas  as  privateers,  or  running 
goods  illegally  from  one  coast  to  another.  And  it 
is  not  true  that  time  has  altogether  stifled  that  old 
spirit.  When  a  liner  to-day  has  the  misfortune 
to  lose  her  way  in  a  fog  and  pile  up  on  rock  or 
sandbank,  you  read  of  the  numbers  of  small  craft 

7 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

wliich  put  out  to  salvage  her  cargo.  But  not  all 
this  help  comes  out  of  hearts  of  unfathomable 
pity.  On  the  contrary,  your  beachman  has  an  eye 
to  business.  He  cannot  go  roving  nowadays  ;  time 
has  killed  the  smuggling  in  which  his  ancestors 
distinguished  themselves.  But  none  the  less  he 
can  legally  profit  by  another  vessel's  misfortune ; 
and,  as  the  local  families  worked  in  syndicate 
fashion  when  they  went  smuggling,  so  now  they 
mutually  arrange  to  get  the  cargo  ashore  and, 
incidentally,  make  a  very  handsome  profit  as 
well. 

We  need  not  envy  the  Government  the  diffi- 
cult and  trying  task  that  was  theirs  during  the 
height  of  the  smuggling  era.  There  was  quite 
enough  to  think  of  in  regard  to  foreign  affairs 
without  wanting  the  additional  worry  of  these 
contraband  runners.  That  must  be  borne  in  mind 
whenever  one  feels  inclined  to  smile  at  the  ap- 
parently half-hearted  manner  in  which  the  authori- 
ties seemed  to  deal  with  the  evil.  Neither  funds 
nor  seamen,  nor  ships  nor  adequate  attention 
could  be  spared  just  then  to  deal  with  these  pests. 
And  it  was  only  after  the  wars  had  at  last  ended 
and  the  Napoleonic  bogey  had  been  settled  that 
this  domestic  worry  could  be  dealt  with  in  the 
manner  it  required.  There  w^ere  waiting  many 
evils  to  be  remedied,  and  this  lawlessness  along 
the  coast  of  the  country  was  one  of  the  greatest. 
But  it  was  not  a  matter  that  could  be  adjusted 


INTRODUCTION 

in  a  hurry,  and  it  was  not  for  another  forty  or 
fifty  years,  not,  in  fact,  until  various  administra- 
tive changes  and  improvements  had  taken  place, 
that  at  last  the  evil  was  practically  stamped  out. 
As  one  looks  through  the  existing  records  one 
cannot  avoid  noticing  that  there  was  scarcely  a 
bay  or  suitable  landing-place  along  the  whole 
English  coast -line  that  did  not  become  notorious 
for  these  smuggling  "  runs  "  :  there  is  hardly  a 
cliff  or  piece  of  high  ground  that  has  not  been 
employed  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  signal  to 
the  approaching  craft  as  they  came  on  through 
the  night  over  the  dark  waters.  There  are  indeed 
very  few  villages  in  proximity  to  the  sea  that 
have  not  been  concerned  in  these  smuggling  ven- 
tures and  taken  active  interest  in  the  landing  of 
bales  and  casks.  The  sympathy  of  the  country- 
side was  with  the  smuggling  fraternity.  JNIagis- 
trates  were  at  times  terrorised,  juries  were  too 
frightened  to  convict.  In  short,  the  evil  had 
grown  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  a  most  diffi- 
cult problem  for  any  Government  to  be  asked 
to  deal  with,  needing  as  it  did  a  very  efficient 
service  both  of  craft  and  men  afloat,  and  an 
equally  able  and  incorruptible  guard  on  land  that 
could  not  be  turned  from  its  purpose  either  by 
fear  or  bribery.  We  shall  see  from  the  following 
chapters  how  these  two  organisations — by  sea  and 
land — worked. 

If  we  exclude  fiction,  the  amount  of  literature 

9 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Avliich  lijis  been  published  on  smuggling  is  exceed- 
ingly snuiU.  Practically  the  whole  of  the  fol- 
lowing pages  is  the  outcome  of  personal  research 
among  original,  authentic  manuscripts  and  official 
documents.  Included  under  this  head  may  be 
cited  the  JNlinutes  of  the  Board  of  Customs, 
General  Letters  of  the  Board  to  the  Collectors 
and  Controllers  of  the  various  Out-ports,  Out- 
port  Letters  to  the  Board,  the  transcripts  from 
shorthand  notes  of  Assizes  and  Promiscuous  Trials 
of  Smugglers,  a  large  quantity  of  INISS.  of  remark- 
able incidents  connected  with  smuggling,  miscel- 
laneous notes  collected  on  the  subject  in  the 
Library  of  the  Customs  House,  instructions  issued 
at  different  times  to  Customs  officers  and  com- 
manders of  cruisers.  General  Orders  issued  to 
the  Coastguard,  together  with  a  valuable  precis 
(unpublished)  of  the  existing  documents  in  the 
many  Customs  Houses  along  the  English  coast 
made  in  the  year  1911  by  the  Librarian  to 
the  Board  of  Customs  on  a  round  of  visits 
to  the  diffisrent  ports  for  that  purpose.  These 
researches  have  been  further  supplemented  by 
other  documents  in  the  British  JNIuseum  and  else- 
where. 

This  volume,  therefore,  contains  within  its 
pages  a  very  large  amount  of  material  hitherto 
unpublished,  and,  additional  to  the  details  gathered 
together  regarding  smuggling  methods,  especial 
attention    has   been    paid   to   collect   all    possible 

10 


INTRODUCTION 

information  concerning  the  Revenue  sloops  and 
cutters  so  frequently  alluded  to  in  those  days  as 
cruisers.  I  have  so  often  heard  a  desire  expressed 
among  those  interested  in  the  literature  of  the 
sea  to  learn  all  about  the  King's  cutters,  how  they 
were  rigged,  manned,  victualled,  armed,  and  navi- 
gated, what  were  their  conditions  of  service  at 
sea,  and  so  on — finally,  to  obtain  accounts  of  their 
chasing  of  smuggling  craft,  accounts  based  on  the 
narratives  of  eye-witnesses  of  the  incidents,  the 
testimony  of  the  commanders  and  crews  them- 
selves, both  captors  and  captives,  that  I  have  been 
here  at  some  pains  to  present  the  most  complete 
picture  of  the  subject  that  has  hitherto  been 
attempted.  These  cutters  were  most  interesting 
craft  by  reason  both  of  themselves  and  the  chases 
and  fights  in  which  they  were  engaged.  The 
King's  cutters  were  employed,  as  many  people 
are  aware,  as  well  in  international  warfare  as  in 
the  Preventive  Service.  There  is  an  interesting 
letter,  for  instance,  to  be  read  from  Lieutenant 
Henry  Rowed,  commanding  the  Admiralty  cutter 
Sheerness,  dated  September  9,  1803,  off*  Brest,  in 
which  her  gallant  commander  sends  a  notable  ac- 
count to  Collingwood  concerning  the  chasing  of 
a  French  chasse-maree.  And  cutters  were  also 
employed  in  connection  with  the  Walcheren  ex- 
pedition. The  hired  armed  cutter  Stag  was  found 
useful  in  1804  as  a  despatch  vessel. 

But  the  King's  cutters  in  the  Revenue  work 
11 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

were  not  always  as  active  as  they  might  be.  In 
one  of  his  novels  {TJie  Three  Cutters)  Captain 
JNIarryat  gives  the  reader  a  very  plain  hint  that 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  slackness  prevalent  in 
this  section  of  the  service.  Referring  to  the  mid- 
shipman of  the  Revenue  cutter  Active,  the  author 
speaks  of  him  as  a  lazy  fellow,  too  inert  even  to 
mend  his  jacket  which  was  out  at  elbows,  and 
adds,  "  He  has  been  turned  out  of  half  the  ships 
in  the  service  for  laziness  ;  but  he  was  born  so, 
and  therefore  it  is  not  his  fault.  A  Revenue 
cutter  suits  him — she  is  half  her  time  hove-to ; 
and  he  has  no  objection  to  boat-service,  as  he  sits 
down  in  the  stern-sheets,  which  is  not  fatiguing. 
Creeping  for  tubs  is  his  delight,  as  he  gets  over 
so  little  ground." 

But  Marryat  was,  of  course,  intentionally  sar- 
castic here.  That  this  lazy  element  was  not  al- 
w^ays,  and  in  every  ship,  prevalent  is  clear  from 
the  facts  at  hand.  It  is  also  equally  clear  from 
the  repeated  admonitions  and  exhortations  of  the 
Board  of  Customs,  by  the  holding-out  of  handsome 
rewards  and  the  threatenings  of  dire  penalties,  that 
the  Revenue-cutter  commanders  were  at  any  rate 
periodically  negligent  of  their  duties.  They  were 
far  too  fond  of  coming  to  a  nice  snug  anchorage 
for  the  night  or  seeking  shelter  in  bad  weather,  and 
generally  running  into  harbour  with  a  frequence 
that  was  unnecessary.  The  result  was  that  the 
cutter,    having   left    her    station    unguarded,   the 

12 


INTRODUCTION 

smugglers    were    able    to    land    their    kegs    with 
impunity. 

But  we  need  not  delay  our  story  longer,  and 
may  proceed  now  to  consider  the  subject  in 
greater  detail. 


13 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

It  is  no  part  of  our  intention  to  trace  the  history 

of  the  levying  of  customs  through  different  reigns 

and  in  different  ages,  but  it  is  important  to  note 

briefly  that  the  evading  of  these  dues  which  we 

designate  smugghng,  is  one  of  the  oldest  offences 

on  record. 

The  most  ancient  dues   paid  to  the  English 

sovereigns  would  seem  to  have  been  those  which 

were  levied  on  the  exportation  and  importation  of 

merchandise  across  the  sea ;  and  it  is  essential  to 

emphasise   at   the  outset   that   though  nowadays 

when  we  speak  of  smuggling  we  are  accustomed  to 

think  only  of  those  acts  concerned  with  imports, 

yet   the   word   applies    equally    to    the    unlawful 

manner  of  exporting  commodities.     Before  it   is 

possible  for  any  crime  to  be  committed  there  must 

needs  be  at  hand  the  opportunity  to  carry  out  this 

intention ;  and  throughout  the  history  of  our  nation 

— at  any  rate  from  the  thirteenth  century — that 

portion   of  England,    the   counties    of  Kent    and 

Sussex,  which  is  adjacent  to  the   Continent,  has 

always  been  at  once  the  most  tempted  and  the 

14 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

most  inclined  towards  this  offence.  Notwithstand- 
ing that  there  are  many  other  localities  which  were 
rendered  notorious  by  generations  of  smugglers, 
yet  these  two  between  them  have  been  responsible 
for  more  incidents  of  this  nature  than  all  the  rest 
put  together. 

What  I  am  anxious  at  first  to  emphasise  is  the 
fact  that,  although  smuggling  rose  to  unheard- 
of  importance  as  a  national  danger  during  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries  (and  this  is 
the  period  to  which  we  shall  especially  address  our- 
selves presently  as  affording  the  fullest  and  the 
most  interesting  information  on  an  ingenious  phase 
of  human  energy),  yet  it  was  not  a  practice  which 
suddenly  rose  into  prominence  during  that  period. 
Human  nature  is  much  the  same  under  various 
kings  and  later  centuries.  Under  similar  circum- 
stances men  and  women  perform  similar  actions. 
Confronted  with  the  temptation  to  cheat  the 
Crown  of  its  dues,  you  will  find  persons  in  the  time 
of  George  V.  repeating  the  very  crimes  of  Edward 
I.  The  difference  is  not  so  much  in  degree  of  guilt 
as  in  the  nature  of  the  articles  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  have  been  smuggled.  To-day  it  may 
be  cigars — centuries  ago  it  was  wool.  Although 
the  golden  age  (if  we  may  use  the  term)  of  smug- 
gling has  long  since  passed,  I  am  by  no  means  un- 
convinced that  if  the  occasions  of  temptation 
recurred  to  carry  on  this  trade  as  it  was  pursued 

during  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  half  of  the 
15 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

nineteenth  centuries,  there  would  not  be  found  many 
who  would  be  ready  to  apply  themselves  to  such  a 
task.  To  some  extent  the  modern  improvements 
in  living,  in  education,  and  increased  respect  for 
lofty  ideals  would  modify  this  tendency ;  and  long 
years  have  awakened  so  keen  a  regard  for  the 
benefits  of  law  and  order  that  the  nefarious  practice 
might  not  break  out  immediately  on  a  large  scale. 
But  when  we  speak  of  smuggling  it  is  perhaps 
more  correct  to  speak  of  it  as  a  disease  which  has 
not  been  exterminated  from  the  system,  but  is,  as 
it  were,  a  microbe  that  is  kept  well  under  control 
and  not  allowed  to  spread. 

Everyone  who  is  familiar  with  English  history 
is  aware  of  the  important  position  which  was  occu- 
pied by  the  wool  trade.  Because  of  the  immense 
value  to  the  nation  of  the  fleece  it  was  necessary 
that  this  commodity  should  be  kept  in  the  country 
and  not  sent  abroad.  If  in  the  present  day  most 
of  our  iron  and  coal  were  to  be  despatched  abroad 
regardless  of  what  was  required  by  our  manu- 
facturers it  would  not  be  long  before  the  country 
would  begin  to  suffer  serious  loss.  So,  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  it  was  with  the  wool.  As  a 
check  to  this  a  tax  was  levied  on  that  wool  which 
was  exported  out  of  the  country,  and  during  the 
reign  of  Edward  III.  attempts  were  made  by  the 
threat  of  heavy  penalties  to  prevent  the  Continent 
from  becoming  the  receptacle  of  our  chief  product. 
But  the  temptation  was  too  great,  the  rewards 

16 


THE    EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

were  too  alluring  for  the  practice  to  be  stopped. 
The  fleece  was  carried  across  from  England,  made 
into  cloth,  and  in  this  state  sent  back  to  us.  Even 
in  those  days  the  town  of  Middleburgh,  which  we 
shall  see  later  to  have  been  the  source  of  much  of 
the  goods  smuggled  into  our  country  in  the  grand 
period,  was  in  the  fourteenth  century  the  head- 
quarters abroad  of  this  clandestine  trade.  We 
need  not  weary  the  reader  with  the  details  of 
the  means  which  were  periodically  taken  to  stop 
this  trade  by  the  English  kings.  It  is  enough  to 
state  that  practically  all  the  ports  of  Sussex  and 
Kent  were  busily  engaged  in  the  illegal  business. 
Neither  the  penalties  of  death,  nor  the  fixing  of  the 
price  of  wool,  nor  the  regulating  of  the  rate  of 
duty  availed  in  the  long-run.  Licences  to  ex- 
port this  article  were  continually  evaded,  creeks 
and  quiet  bays  were  the  scenes  where  the  fleece 
was  shipped  for  France  and  the  Low  Countries. 
Sometimes  the  price  of  wool  fell,  sometimes  it  rose  ; 
sometimes  the  Crown  received  a  greater  amount  of 
duty,  at  other  times  the  royal  purse  suffered  very 
severely.  In  the  time  of  Elizabeth  the  encourage- 
ment of  foreign  weavers  to  make  their  homes  in 
England  was  likely  to  do  much  to  keep  the  wool 
in  the  country,  especially  as  there  began  to  be  in- 
creased wealth  in  our  land,  and  families  began  to 
spend  more  money  on  personal  comforts. 

Even  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.  proclamations 
were    issued    against    exporting    wool,    yet     the 

17  B 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

mischief  still  went  on.  In  tlie  time  of  Charles  II. 
men  readily  "risked  their  necks  for  12d.  a  day."  ^ 
The  greatest  part  of  the  wool  was  sent  from 
Romney  JNIarsh,  where,  after  nightfall,  it  was  put 
on  board  French  shallops  with  ten  or  twenty  men 
to  guard  it,  all  well  armed.  And  other  parts  of 
Sussex  as  well  as  Kent  and  even  Essex  were  also 
engaged  in  similar  exportations. 

But  it  is  from  the  time  of  King  Charles  II.  that 
the  first  serious  steps  were  taken  to  cope  with  the 
smuggling  evil,  and  from  here  we  really  take  our 
starting-point  in  our  present  inquiry.  Prior  to 
his  time  the  Customs,  as  a  subsidy  of  the  king, 
were  prone  to  much  variability.  In  the  time  of 
James  I.,  for  instance,  they  had  been  granted  to 
the  sovereign  for  life,  and  he  claimed  to  alter  the 
rates  as  he  chose  when  pressed  for  money.  When 
Charles  I.  came  to  the  throne  the  Commons,  in- 
stead of  voting  them  for  the  extent  of  the  sove- 
reign's life,  granted  them  for  one  year  only.  At 
a  later  date  in  the  reign  of  that  unhappy  king 
the  grant  was  made  only  for  a  couple  of  months. 
These  dues  were  known  as  tonnage  and  poundage, 
the  former  being  a  duty  of  Is.  6d.  to  3s.  levied 
on  every  ton  of  wine  and  liquor  exported  and 
imported.  Poundage  was  a  similar  tax  of  6d.  to 
Is.  on  every  pound  of  dry  goods. 

^  "Smuggling  in  Sussex,"  by  William  Durrant  Cooper,  F.S.A., 
in  vol.  X.  of  the  Sunsea;  Archceological  Collection,  to  which  I  am 
indebted. 

18 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

It  was  not  till  after  the  Restoration  that  the 
customs  were  settled  and  more  firmly  established, 
a  subsidy  being  "granted  to  the  king  of  tonnage 
and  poundage  and  other  sums  of  money  pay- 
able upon  merchandise  exported  and  imported," 
Nominally  the  customs  were  employed  for  de- 
fraying the  cost  of  "guarding  and  defending  the 
seas  against  all  persons  intending  the  disturbance 
of  his  subjects  in  the  intercourse  of  trade,  and 
the  invading  of  this  realm."  And  so,  also,  there 
was  inaugurated  a  more  systematic  and  efficient 
method  of  preventing  this  export  smuggling.  So 
far  as  one  can  find  any  records  from  the  existing 
manuscripts  of  this  early  Preventive  system,  the 
chronological  order  would  seem  to  be  as  follows : 
The  first  mention  of  any  kind  of  marine  service 
that  I  can  trace  is  found  in  a  manuscript  of  1674, 
which  shows  the  establishment  of  the  Custom 
House  organisation  in  that  year  for  England  and 
Wales.  From  this  it  is  clear  that  there  had  been 
made  a  beginning  of  that  system  which  was  later 
to  develop  into  that  of  the  Revenue  cutters. 
And  when  we  recollect  how  extremely  interested 
was  Charles  II.  in  everything  pertaining  to  the 
sea  and  to  sloop-rigged  craft  especially,  it  seems 
very  natural  to  believe  that  this  monarch  inspired, 
or  at  any  rate  very  considerably  encouraged,  the 
formation  of  a  small  fleet  of  Custom  House  sail- 
ing craft.  Elsewhere  I  have  discussed  this  matter 
at  length,  therefore  it  may  suffice  if  attention  is 

19 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

called  to  the  fact  that  to  Charles  was  due  the 
first  yacht  into  England,  presented  to  him  by  the 
Dutch ;  while  from  his  encouragement  were  born 
the  sport  of  yachting  and  the  building  of  English 
yachts.  He  was  very  much  concerned  in  the  rig 
of  sloops,  and  loved  to  sail  in  such  craft,  and  his 
yacht  was  also  most  probably  the  first  vessel  of 
that  rig  which  had  ever  been  employed  by  Eng- 
lish sailors.  Further  still,  he  was  something  of 
a  naval  architect,  the  founder  of  the  Greenwich 
Royal  Observatory  and  the  Nautical  Almanac,  and 
under  his  rule  a  fresh  impulse  was  given  to  navi- 
gation and  shipbuilding  generally. 

At  any  rate  by  the  year  1674  there  M'^ere 
among  the  smaller  sailing  craft  of  England  a 
number  of  sloops  and  smacks  employed  doubtless 
for  fishing  and  coasting  work.  As  a  kind  of  marine 
police,  the  Custom  House  authorities  determined 
to  hire  some  of  these  to  keep  a  watch  on  the 
"  owlers,"  as  the  wool-smugglers  were  termed,  so 
called,  no  doubt,  because  they  had  to  pursue  their 
calling  always  by  night.  Whatever  efforts  had 
been  adopted  prior  to  his  reign  probably  had 
consisted  for  the  most  part,  if  not  entirely,  of  a 
land  police.  But  under  this  second  Charles  the 
very  sensible  and  obvious  idea  of  utilising  a  number 
of  sailing  craft  was  started.  In  the  above  MS. 
volume  the  first  reference  is  to  "  Peter  Knight, 
Master  of  ye  smack  for  ye  wages  of  him  self  and 

five  men  and  boy,  and  to  bear  all  charges  except 

20 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

wear   and   tear   .   .    .   £59."     "For   extraordinary 

wear  and  tear,"  he  was  to  be  paid  £59.     His  vessel 

was   the  Margate  smack.     In   the   same   volume 

there   is   also   a   reference   to    the    "  Graves   End 

smack,"  and  to  "  Thomas  Symonds  for  wages  and 

dyett  [diet]  for  himself,  master  and  six  men  .  .  . 

£56,  5s.  Od."     And  for  the  "wear  and  tear  to  be 

disposed  as  ye  Commrs.  direct  .  .  .  £14,  15s.  Od." 

There  was  yet  a  third  vessel  stationed  a  few  miles 

away,  the  "  Quinborrough  smack,"  and  a  reference 

to  "  Nicholas  Badcock  for  hire  of  ye  smack,  two 

men,  and  to  bear  all  charges  .  .  .  £23,"     These 

vessels  were  not  known  as  Revenue  cutters  at  this 

time,  but  as  Custom  House  smacks.     They  were 

hired  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  Customs  from 

private   individuals   to   prevent   the   owlers    from 

smuggling  the  wool  from  Kent,  Essex,  and  Sussex. 

But  it  would  seem  that  these  smacks,  even  if  they 

modified  a  little  the  activities  of  the  owlers,  did 

not  succeed  in  bringing  about  many  convictions. 

Romney  Marsh  still  sent  its  contribution  across 

to  France  and  Holland,  much  as  it  had  done  for 

generations. 

But  in  1698  the  attack  on  the  men  of  Kent 

and   Sussex  was  strengthened  by  legislation,  for 

by  7  &  8  William  III.  cap.  28,  it  was  enacted 

that  "  for  the  better  preventing  the  exportation  of 

wool   and  correspondence  with  France  .   .   .   the 

Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  or  Commissioners 

for  executing  the  office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  for 

21 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  time  being,  shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and 
appoint  one  sliip  of  the  Fifth  Rate,  and  two  ships 
of  the  Sixth  Rate,  and  four  armed  sloops  constantly 
to  cruise  off  the  North  Foreland  to  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  with  orders  for  taking  and  seizing  all 
ships,  vessels,  or  boats  which  shall  export  any  wool 
or  carry  or  bring  any  prohibited  goods  or  any 
suspected  persons."  It  was  due  to  William  III.'s 
Government  also  that  no  person  living  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  sea  in  those  counties  should 
buy  any  wool  before  he  entered  into  a  bond,  with 
sureties,  that  all  the  wool  he  might  buy  should 
be  sold  by  him  to  no  persons  within  fifteen 
miles  of  the  sea,  and  all  growers  of  wool  within 
ten  miles  of  the  sea  in  those  counties  were  obliged 
within  three  days  of  shearing  to  account  for 
the  number  of  fleeces,  and  where  they  were 
lodged. 

Instructions  were  duly  issued  to  captains  of 
sloops,  and  a  scheme  drafted  for  surrounding  the 
whole  of  the  coast  with  sloops,  the  crews  consist- 
ing of  master,  mate,  and  mariners.  But  from  an 
entry  in  the  Excise  and  Treasury  Reports  of  1685, 
it  is  clear  that  a  careful  regard  even  at  that  date 
was  being  had  for  the  import  smuggling  as  well. 
The  reference  belongs  to  September  24,  and  shows 
that  a  "boarding"  boat  was  desired  for  going 
alongside  vessels  in  the  Downs,  and  preventing 
the  running  in  of  brandies  along  the  coast  in  that 
vicinity.     The  charge  for  building  such  a  boat  is 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

to  be  £25.  In  another  MS.  touching  the  Customs, 
there  is  under  date  of  June  1695  an  interesting 
reference  to  "  a  Deale  yoghall  to  be  built,"  and 
that  "  such  a  boat  will  be  here  of  very  good  use." 
She  is  to  be  "  fitt  to  go  into  ye  roads  for  boarding 
men  or  other  ocations  when  ye  sloops  may  be  at 
sea. " 

So  much,  then,  for  the  present  as  to  the  guard- 
ing by  sea  against  the  smugglers.  Let  us  now 
turn  to  look  into  the  means  adopted  by  land. 
The  wool-owners  of  Romney  Marsh  were  still 
hard  at  their  game,  and  the  horses  still  came  down 
to  the  beach  ladened  with  the  packs  ready  to  be 
shipped.  If  any  one  were  sent  with  warrants  to 
arrest  the  delinquents,  they  were  attacked,  beaten, 
and  forced  to  flee,  followed  by  armed  gangs  on 
horseback.  But  it  was  evident  that  the  Crown 
was  determined  not  to  let  the  matter  rest,  for  a 
number  of  surveyors  were  appointed  for  nineteen 
counties  and  299  riding  officers  as  well,  though 
they  made  few  seizures,  and  obtained  still  fewer 
condemnations,  but  at  great  expense  to  the  State. 
In  1703  it  was  believed  that  the  owling  trade, 
especially  in  Romney  Marsh,  was  broken  if  not 
dead,  although  the  smuggling  by  import  was  on 
the  increase,  especially  as  regards  silks,  lace,  and 
such  "  fine "  goods.  At  that  time  for  the  two 
hundred  miles  of  coast-line  between  the  Isle  of 
Sheppey  and  Emsworth — practically  the  whole  of 

the  Kentish  and  Sussex  shore — fifty  officers  were 

23 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

being  employed  at  a  salary  of  £60  per  annum, 
with  an  allowance  to  each  of  another  £30  annually 
for  a  servant  and  horse  to  assist  them  during  the 
night.  And  there  was  authority  also  for  the  em- 
ployment of  dragoons  to  aid  the  riding  officers, 
especially  in  the  neighbourliood  of  Romney  Marsh  ; 
but  there  was  a  number  of  "  weak  and  superannu- 
ated "  men  among  the  latter,  who  did  not  make 
for  the  efficiency  of  the  service. 

We  need  not  say  much  more  about  the  wool- 
exportation.  In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  the 
Custom  House  smacks  and  the  assistance  of  his 
INIajesty's  ships  of  war,  in  spite,  too,  of  further 
legislation,  it  still  continued.  It  went  on  merrily 
at  any  rate  till  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
by  which  time  the  smuggling  by  imports  had 
long  since  eclipsed  its  importance.  It  was  the 
wars  with  France  during  the  time  of  William 
and  Mary  which  increased  and  rendered  more  easy 
the  smuggling  into  England  of  silk  and  lace. 
And  by  means  of  the  craft  which  imported  these 
goods  there  used  to  be  smuggled  also  a  good 
deal  of  Jacobite  correspondence.  As  Kent  and 
Sussex  had  been  famous  for  their  export  smug- 
gling, so  these  counties  were  again  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  illicit  importation.  From  now  on 
till  the  middle  of  this  eighteenth  century  this 
newer  form  of  smuggling  rose  gradually  to  won- 
drous  heights.      And   yet   it   was   by   no   means 

new.     In  the  time  of  Edward  III.  steps  had  to 

24 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

be  taken  to  prevent  the  importation  of  base  coin 
into  the  realm,  and  in  succeeding  reigns  the  king 
had  been  cheated  many  a  time  of  that  which  ought 
to  have  come  to  him  through  the  duties  of  goods 
entering  the  country. 

It  was  impossible  instantly  to  put  down  a 
practice  which  had  been  pursued  by  so  many 
families  for  so  many  hundreds  of  years.  But  the 
existing  force  was  not  equal  to  coping  w^ith  the 
increase.  As  a  consequence  the  daring  of  the 
smugglers  knew  no  bounds — the  more  they  suc- 
ceeded the  more  they  ventured.  A  small  gang 
of  ten  would  blossom  forth  into  several  hundreds 
of  men,  there  would  be  no  lack  of  arms  nor  clubs, 
and  adequate  arrangements  would  be  made  for 
cellar-storage  of  the  goods  when  safely  brought 
into  the  country.  Consequently  violence  became 
more  frequent  than  ever — bloodshed  and  all  sorts 
of  crimes  occurred. 

In  the  year  1723  several  commissions  or  de- 
putations were  issued  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  to  captains  of  his  Majesty's  sloops 
to  make  seizures,  and  the  following  year  the 
Treasury  authorised  the  construction  of  seven 
sloops  for  service  off  the  coast  of  Scotland.  The 
smugglers  had  in  fact  become  so  desperate,  the 
English  Channel  was  so  thoroughly  infested  with 
them,  and  the  Revenue  service  was  so  incapable 
of  dealing   with  them    in   the   manner   that   was 

obviously    essential    for    effectiveness,    that    the 

25 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Admiralty  ordered  the  captains  and  commanders  of 
His  Majesty's  ships  to  assist  the  Revenue  officers 
all  they  could  in  order  to  prevent  the  smuggling 
trade,  and  to  look  out  and  seize  all  vessels  em- 
ployed in  illegally  exporting  wool ;  for  the  Ad- 
miralty had  been  informed  by  the  Commissioners 
of  Customs  that  the  Revenue  officers  frequently 
met  with  insults  from  French  smuggling  luggers 
manned  by  armed  crews,  who  carried  on  a  brisk 
smuggling  trade  by  force  and  even  dared  the 
Revenue  men  to  come  aboard  them. 

But  as  the  Revenue  service  afloat  was  as- 
sisted now  by  the  Navy,  so  the  Revenue  land 
guard  was  also  aided  by  the  Military.  In  1713 
arrangements  had  been  made  that  dragoons  should 
co-operate  with  the  riding  officers  in  their  opera- 
tions against  the  owlers,  and  there  are  plenty  of 
skirmishes  recorded  showing  that  the  dragoons 
were  actually  so  employed.  Originally  these 
soldiers  were  employed  under  the  direction  of  the 
riding  officers,  but,  as  can  well  be  expected,  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  jealousy  and  friction  caused 
through  the  sharing  of  the  soldiers  in  the  rewards 
for  seizures,  and  after  the  year  1822  this  military 
assistance  was  not  utilised  to  any  great  extent, 
although  legally  Army  officers  can  still  be  called 
upon  to  render  assistance  against  smuggling.  And, 
in  passing,  one  might  mention  that  this  co-opera- 
tion afloat   between   the    Customs   men   and   the 

Navy  was  equally  noticeable  for  a  certain  amount 

26 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

of   ill-feeling,   as   we   shall   mention   on   a   later 
page. 

Before  the  first  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury was  completed,  smuggling  between  England 
and  the  Continent  was  proceeding  at  a  brisk  pace, 
and  by  the  middle  of  that  century  it  had  well- 
nigh  reached  its  climax  for  fearlessness.  We  have 
already  alluded  to  the  establishment  of  hired 
smacks  and  sloops  inaugurated  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  sloop  rig,  as 
I  have  shown  in  another  volume,^  had  probably 
been  introduced  into  England  from  Holland  soon 
after  the  accession  of  Charles  II.,  but  from  that 
date  its  merits  of  handiness  were  so  fully  recognised 
that  for  yachts,  for  fishing  craft,  for  the  carrying 
of  passengers  and  cargo  up  and  down  the  Thames 
and  along  the  coast  as  well  as  across  to  Ireland 
and  the  Continent,  the  rig  was  adopted  very 
readily  in  place  of  the  lug-sails.  The  smack  was 
also  a  sloop-rigged  vessel.  We  need  not  enter 
here  into  a  discussion  as  to  the  comparative  merits 
of  sloops  and  cutters  and  smacks.  It  is  enough 
if  we  state  that  when  it  was  realised  that  a 
vessel  of  say  100  tons,  sloop-rigged,  with  her  one 
mast,  mainsail,  and  two  headsails  and  square  top- 
sail (set  forward  of  the  mast  on  a  yard)  could 
be  handled  with  fewer  men  and  therefore  less 
expense  than  a  lugger  of  similar  size ;  was  also 

*  Fore  and  Aft :   The  Story  of  the  Fore  -  and  -  Aft  Rig.     London, 
1911. 

27 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

more  suitable  for  manoeuvring  in  narrow  channels, 
and  for  entering  and  leaving  small  harbours,  the 
fishermen,  coasters,  and  so  on  took  to  this  im- 
provement. Thus  most  naturally  the  larger  smug- 
gling craft  were  till  well  on  into  the  nineteenth 
century  sloops  or  cutters,  and  equally  natural 
was  it  that  the  Revenue  availed  themselves  of 
this  rig  first  by  hiring  smacks,  and,  later,  by  build- 
ing for  themselves.  These  sloops,  whether  hired 
or  owned,  were  given  each  a  particular  station  to 
guard,  and  that  plan  was  followed  by  the  Revenue 
cruisers  for  many  years  to  follow.  Among  the 
Exeter  documents  of  the  Customs  Department 
is  included  an  interesting  document  dated  July 
10,  1703,  wherein  the  Board  of  Customs  informs 
the  collector  at  the  port  of  Dartmouth  of  the  list 
of  vessels  appointed  by  the  Commissioners  to 
cruise  against  owlers,  the  district  comprised  ex- 
tending from  Pembroke  in  the  west  to  the 
Downs  in  the  east.  The  following  is  the  list 
of  these  vessels  with  their  respective  cruising 
territories : — 


NAME  OF  CRUISER 

LIMITS  OF  HER  SPHERE 

Rye                   .         . 

Pembroke  to  Lundy  Island 

Discovery 

Milford  to  Swansea 

Dolphin 

Milford  to  Exmouth 

Hastings 

})       }}         t) 

Woolwich 

Downs  to  Falmouth 

Swan 

5>                >>                  >> 

Fly                   .          . 

Off  Folkestone 

Dispatch 

J  J           >} 

28 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

This  fairly  well  covered  the  region  to  which 
goods  were  likely  to  be  run  from  the  Continent  as 
well  as  that  from  which  the  owlers  were  wont  to 
export  their  wool.  From  an  entry  among  the 
documents  preserved  in  the  Custom  House  at 
Newcastle,  dated  September  1729,  we  can  see  that 
also  the  north-east  coast  was  guarded  thus  : — 

NAME  OF  CRUISER  LIMITS  OF   HER  SPHERE 

Cruiser  .         .     Flamborough  Head  to  Newcastle 

Deal  Castle    .         .     Newcastle  to  Leith 

Spy  .         .      Firth  of  Forth  to  Newcastle 

And  about  the  last-mentioned  date  the  Deal  Castle 
had  succeeded  in  capturing  four  French  smug- 
gling craft  and  brought  them  into  Shields. 

To  the  other  side  of  England  the  Isle  of  Man, 
which  was  a  veritable  contraband  depot,  used  to 
send  quantities  of  dutiable  goods,  Liverpool  being 
the  favourite  destination,  and  it  was  a  more  diffi- 
cult matter  here  to  deal  with  than  in  many  other 
ports.  On  October  9, 1713,  the  Collector  at  Liver- 
pool writes  to  the  Board  of  Customs  that  he  thinks 
a  sloop  would  be  of  little  service  for  that  port. 
Some  time  ago  they  had  one,  which  was  not  a 
success  "  by  reason  of  ye  dangerousness  and  diffi- 
culty of  the  harbour  and  ye  many  shoales  of  sand, 
which  often  shift  in  bad  weather."  The  Manx- 
men were  a  thoroughly  lawless,  desperate  species 
of  smugglers,  who  stopped  at  nothing,  and  were 
especially  irate  towards  all  Revenue  and   public 

29 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

officials,  recognising  no  authority  other  than  might 
and  a  certain  respect  for  the  Duke  of  Atholl,  the 
owner  of  the  Isle  of  JNIan. 

Among  the  letters  to  Southampton  there  is 
a  record  dated  June  14,  1729,  which  shows 
that  a  number  of  his  Majesty's  sloops  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  Admiralty  to  cruise  off  the  coasts 
of  the  kingdom  to  prevent  the  exporting  of 
wool  and  the  running  of  goods  by  the  import- 
smugglers.  For  instance,  the  Admiralty  sloop 
Swift  was  appointed  to  cruise  between  Portland, 
Poole,  and  Jack-in-the- Basket  off  the  entrance  to 
Lymington  Harbour,  Hants,  her  commander  being 
a  Captain  Cockayne.  Similarly  the  sloop  Success 
(Captain  Thomas  Smith,  commander)  was  to  cruise 
between  Portland  and  Spithead,  and  the  Rye 
(Captain  John  Edw^ards)  between  the  Isle  of 
Wight  and  Beachy  Head  to  the  eastward.  It 
w^as  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Revenue  officers  at 
Southampton  to  see  that  these  three  ships  con- 
stantly cruised  on  their  station,  and  if  their  com- 
manders were  found  negligent  of  this  duty  the 
matter  was  to  be  reported  to  the  Board  of 
Customs.  The  Revenue  craft  were  apparently 
not  above  suspicion,  for  in  November  of  1729  the 
Southampton  officers  of  the  Customs  reported  to 
headquarters  that  this  very  sloop,  the  Swift,  every 
time  she  went  across  to  Guernsey  in  connection 
with  her  duties  of  prevention,  used  to  bring  back 

quantities    of  wine,  brandy,    and    other    dutiable 

30 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

goods  under  the  pretence  that  they  were  the  ship's 
stores.  The  intention,  however,  was  nothing  less 
than  that  which  dominated  the  actions  of  the 
smugglers  themselves  —  the  very  class  against 
which  the  Sivift  was  employed  —  for  Captain 
Cockayne's  men  used  to  find  it  no  very  difficult 
matter  to  run  these  goods  ashore  clandestinely 
under  the  very  eyes  of  the  unsuspecting  Customs 
officers.  The  Commissioners  of  the  Customs 
therefore  sent  down  strict  instructions  that  the 
Swift  was  to  be  rummaged  every  time  she  arrived 
at  Southampton  from  Guernsey.  We  shall  have 
reason  presently  to  refer  more  especially  to  the 
Channel  Isles  again,  but  it  may  suffice  for  the 
present  to  state  that  they  were  in  the  south  the 
counterpart  of  the  Isle  of  Man  in  the  north  as 
being  a  depot  whence  the  import  smugglers  fetched 
their  goods  across  to  England. 

Additional  to  the  Naval  sloops  just  mentioned, 
there  were  two  other  cutters  belonging  to  the 
Southampton  station  under  the  Revenue  and  not, 
of  course.  Admiralty-owned  craft.  These  vessels 
were  respectively  the  Calshot  and  the  Hurst,  and  it 
is  worth  noting  that  at  the  time  we  are  thinking 
of  (1729)  these  vessels  are  referred  to  generally  as 
"  yatchs  "  or  "  yachts."  It  was  not  quite  seventy 
years  since  the  first  yacht — that  presented  to 
Charles  II.,  named  the  Mary — had  arrived  in 
England,  and  it  was  only  in  1720  that  the  first 
yacht  club  had  been  established,  not  in  England, 

31 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

but  in  Cork.  If  we  may  judge  from  contem- 
porary paintings  of  yachts  we  can  visualise  the 
Hurst  and  Cakliot  as  being  very  tubby,  bluff- 
bowed  craft  with  ample  beam.  But  what  would 
especially  strike  us  in  these  modern  days  would 
be  the  exceptionally  long  bowsprit,  the  forward 
end  of  which  was  raised  considerably  above  the 
water  than  its  after  end,  both  jib  and  foresail  each 
working  on  a  stay. 

The  commander  of  the  Calshot  yacht  was  a 
Captain  JNIears,  and  there  is  an  entry  in  the  South- 
ampton documents  to  the  effect  that  he  was  paid 
the  sum  of  £2,  12s.  6d.  for  piloting  his  vessel  from 
Southampton  to  Guernsey  and  back  in  connection 
with  the  Preventive  duties.  This  trip  took  him 
five  days,  his  pay  being  half  a  guinea  a  day.  It  is 
clear  from  a  record  of  the  following  year  that  Mears 
was  employed  by  special  arrangement,  for  on  July 
18,  1730,  the  Board  of  Customs  decided  that  it 
was  necessary  that  Captain  John  Mears,  com- 
mander of  the  Calshot  yacht  at  Southampton, 
should  now  be  placed  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
other  commanders  of  the  Revenue  sloops  and 
smacks  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  wear  and  tear. 
Henceforth  the  sum  of  30s.  per  ton  was  to  be 
allowed  him  instead  of  £47  per  annum.  Both 
yacht  and  her  boats  were  to  be  kept  in  good  repair, 
but  the  commander  was  first  to  give  security  to 
have  the  vessel  and  her  boats  generally  in  good  order 

and  reasonable  repair,  loss  by  violence  of  the  sea 

32 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

or  other  unavoidable  accidents  excepted.  The 
commander  was  also  to  find  the  sloop  and  her 
boats  with  all  manner  of  necessaries  and  materials, 
so  that  the  Crown  was  to  be  at  no  charge  on  that 
account  in  the  future ;  and  every  quarter  the 
Comptroller  and  Collector  of  the  port  were  to 
certify  to  the  Board  as  to  whether  the  yacht  and 
boats  were  in  good  repair. 

It  would  appear  that  these  two  vessels  were 
not  actually  owned  by  the  Customs  but  hired 
from  Captain  Mears ;  and  less  than  a  month  before 
the  above  order  the  Surveyor-General  of  the 
Customs  for  Hampshire  represented  to  the  Board 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  allow  the  commander 
of  the  Hurst  half-a-dozen  muskets,  two  pairs  of 
pistols,  half-a-dozen  sw^ords  or  cutlasses,  and  these 
were  accordingly  ordered  to  be  sent,  together  with 
two  swivel  guns,  from  Weymouth  to  Captain 
Mears  "  by  the  first  coast  vessel  bound  to  "  South- 
ampton. There  was  certainly  need  for  a  strict 
vigilance  to  be  kept  in  that  neighbourhood,  for 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  smuggling  then  being 
carried  on  along  the  Hampshire  shore  in  the 
vicinity  of  Hurst  Castle  and  Beaulieu. 

In  another  chapter  we  shall  go  into  the  import- 
ant matter  touching  the  flags  that  were  worn  by 
the  vessels  employed  in  looking  after  smuggling, 
but,  in  passing,  we  may  call  attention  to  a  letter 
which  the  Board  sent  to  Southampton  at  this  time 
referring   to   the   proclamation   of  December    18, 

33  c 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

1702,  by  whicli  no  ships  whatsoever  were  allowed 
to  wear  a  pendant  excepting  those  engaged  in  the 
service  of  the  Royal  Navy,  but  that  the  sloops 
employed  in  the  several  public  offices  (as,  for 
instance,  the  Customs  and  the  Excise)  should  wear 
Jacks,  whereon  was  to  be  described  the  seal  used 
in  the  respective  offices.  And  Captain  John 
Mears,  senior,  of  the  Cakhot,  and  Captain  John 
Mears,  junior,  of  the  Hurst,  were  to  be  informed 
that  they  must  deliver  up  their  pendants  to  the 
Customs'  office  at  Southampton  and  for  the  future 
forbear  wearing  a  pendant.  Instead  thereof  they 
are  to  wear  a  Jack  and  ensign  with  the  seal  of 
office  therein,  "  but  the  mark  in  the  ensign  is  to  be 
twice  as  large  as  that  in  the  Jack ;  and  if  the 
captain  should  hereafter  find  that  the  not  wearing 
a  pendant  will  be  any  obstruction  or  hindrance  to 
the  service,"  the  Board  of  Customs  is  to  be  in- 
formed.^ 

We  have  now  seen  something  of  the  sloops 
and  cutters  on  the  south,  the  west,  and  the  north- 
east coasts.  Let  us  take  a  glance  at  the  district 
to  the  southward  of  Flamborough  during  this 
same  period.  From  the  Hull  letter  book  we  find 
that  in  September  of  1733  the  Admiralty  ap- 
pointed Captain  Burrish  of  the  Blandfoi^d  and  Sir 
Roger  Butler  of  the  Bonetta  to  cruise  between 

1  "Southampton  Letters,"  November  6,  1730.  But  in  1719,  the 
Customs  Commissioners  had,  inter  alia,  agreed  to  provide  Captain 
Mears  with  "a  suit  of  colours"  for  the  Calshot.  Tliis  provision  was, 
therefora,  now  cancelled  in  the  year  1730. 

34 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

Flamboroiigh  and  Newcastle;  but  Captain  Gates 
of  the  Fly  and  Captain  Rycant  of  the  Tryal  were 
to  cruise  between  Flamborough  and  Yarmouth. 
There  is  also  a  reference  to  the  Revenue  sloop 
Humber  employed  in  this  neighbourhood  on  Pre- 
ventive work.  She  was  a  somewhat  expensive 
craft  to  keep  up,  as  she  was  frequently  needing 
repairs  and  renewals.  First,  she  was  to  have  a  new 
cable  which  was  to  cost  £20,  14s.  3|d. ;  and  it  is  a 
striking  reminder  of  those  days  of  hemp  and  sail 
that  this  bill  was  paid  to  the  "  ropemakers."  A 
few  months  later  she  had  to  undergo  repairs  which 
amounted  to  £31, 10s.  6|d.,  and  less  than  six  months 
afterwards  she  had  to  be  given  a  new  anchor 
which  cost  £18,  8s.  9d.  Three  years  later  she  was 
given  a  new  suit  of  sails  which  came  to  £25, 17s.  Id. 
but  her  old  suit  was  sold  for  the  sum  of  eight 
guineas.  And  finally,  in  1744,  as  she  had  begun 
to  cost  so  much  for  repairing,  the  Board  deter- 
mined to  sell  her. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  south  coast,  by  reason 
of  its  proximity  to  the  Continent  and  the  Channel 
Isles,  was  a  convenient  and  popular  objective  for 
the  smugglers  running  their  goods  from  France 
and  Holland,  yet  the  Yorkshire  coast  was  by  no 
means  neglected.  From  Dunkirk  and  Flushing 
especially  goods  poured  into  the  county.  There 
was  a  small  sloop,  for  instance,  belonging  to  Brid- 
lington, which  was  accustomed  to  sail  across  the 

North  Sea  to  one  of  the  ports  in  Zealand,  where 

35 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

a  cargo  was  taken  aboard  consisting  of  the  usual 
dutiable  articles  such  as  tea,  tobacco,  and  gin. 
The  return  voyage  was  then  made  and  the  goods 
landed  clandestinely  at  some  convenient  spot  be- 
tween the  Spiu*n  I^ighthouse  and  Bridlington. 

Similarly,  fartlier  south  than  the  Humber 
smuggling  by  illegal  importation  went  on  exten- 
sively in  the  early  eighteenth  century.  Sometimes 
a  Dutch  vessel  would  arrive  in  Grimsby  Roads  and 
succeed  in  quietly  running  her  goods  to  the  shore. 
In  the  autumn  of  1734  the  master  of  the  Dutch 
schuyt  The  Good  Luck  of  Camphire,  alias  The 
Brotherly  Love,  had  succeeded  in  running  as  many 
as  166  half-ankers^  of  brandy  and  50  lbs.  of  tea 
on  the  coast  near  Great  Yarmouth,  the  skipper's 
name  being  Francis  Coffee.  He  was  a  notorious 
smuggler.  But  on  this  occasion  both  he  and  his 
vessel  were  captured. 

Still,  matters  were  not  always  satisfactory  on 
board  the  Revenue  sloops  and  smacks,  for  when- 
ever, at  this  time,  there  was  an  encounter  with 
the  smugglers  afloat  the  latter  were  so  violent 
and  desperate  that  the  captors  went  about  their 
work  with  their  lives  in  their  hands.  Further- 
more, it  was  not  altogether  a  pleasing  business 
to  have  to  fire  at  fellow-countrymen,  many  of 
whom  they  had  known  from  boyhood.  Then, 
again,  there  was  not  the  space  on  these  sloops 
and  cutters,  nor  the  amount  of  deck  room  to  be 

'  A  half-anker  held  8j  gallons. 

36 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

found  on  the  men-of-war ;  and  to  be  cooped  up 
in  these  comparatively  small  vessels  always  on 
the  qui  vive,  usually  near  the  shore  but  able  to 
have  shore-leave  all  too  rarely,  was  calculated  to 
make  for  restlessness.  Added  to  which  a  very 
considerable  portion  of  the  crews  of  these  Revenue 
craft  was  composed  of  men  who  had  spent  years 
of  their  lives  as  smugglers  themselves.  Conse- 
quently it  was  not  altogether  surprising  that 
mutinies  and  refusals  to  obey  their  commander's 
orders  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  After  a  time 
it  was  decided  that  those  members  of  the  crew 
whicli  had  to  be  dismissed  for  such  offences  were 
to  be  handed  over  to  the  commander  of  the  next 
man-of-war  that  should  come  along,  and  be  pressed 
into  the  service  of  the  Navy,  though,  it  may  be 
added,  this  was  not  always  a  welcome  gift  to 
the  Naval  commander  compelled  to  receive  a 
handful  of  recalcitrant  men  aboard  his  ship.  Then, 
again,  when  at  last  a  handful  of  smugglers  had 
been  captured  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Revenue 
officers  to  prosecute  them  before  the  magistrate 
at  their  own  expense.  This  was  regarded  as  an 
unfair  hardship,  and  in  ]  736  the  system  was  modi- 
fied by  the  Treasury  allowing  an  officer  a  third 
of  whatever  amount  was  recovered,  the  prosecution 
to  be  carried  on  at  the  King's  expense.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  undeniable  that  some  com- 
manders  of  these    sloops    and    cutters   were   not 

quite  as  active  as  they  might  be  on  their  station. 

37 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

There  was  too  ready  an  excuse  to  run  in  from 
tlie  sea  and  too  great  an  inclination  to  spend  valu- 
able time  in  port.  They  were  accordingly  now 
enjoined  not  to  presume  to  lay  up  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  the  sliip's  bottom  a  scrub,  or  for  a  refit, 
without  previously  giving  the  Collector  and  Comp- 
troller of  the  port  ten  days'  notice.  This  was  not 
to  occur  unless  the  cruiser  really  needed  such  at- 
tention ;  but  if  it  was  essential  then  to  prevent 
the  station  remaining  unguarded  some  other 
smack  or  vessel  was  to  be  sent  out  to  take  her 
place  for  the  time  being.  For  the  smugglers  were 
kept  so  well  informed  of  the  movements  of  the 
Revenue  ships  that  a  contraband  cargo  of  goods 
would  soon  be  found  approaching  the  shore  during 
the  night  when  the  watch  had  been  relaxed. 

But  from  an  early  date — at  any  rate  as  far 
back  as  1694 — the  East  India  ships  were  notorious 
also  for  smuggling  into  the  country  a  considerable 
amount  of  goods  that  ought  to  have  paid  duty. 
We  shall  bring  forward  instances  presently  of  East 
Indiamen,  homeward  bound,  being  boarded  as 
they  come  up  Channel,  or  while  waiting  in  the 
Downs  and  putting  some  of  their  cargo  on  board 
smuggling  cutters  and  Deal  boats,  which  was  sub- 
sequently quietly  and  secretly  brought  into  the 
country.  Silks  were  especially  popular  among  the 
smugglers  in  this  connection.  In  those  days,  too, 
the   more    wealthy   passengers    coming   home   by 

these  East    Indiamen  used  to  leave  the  ship   at 

38 


THE   EARLIEST   SMUGGLERS 

Spithead,  where  they  came  in  for  that  purpose. 
These  passengers  would  then  be  put  ashore  at 
Portsmouth,  and,  proceeding  by  coach  to  London, 
thus  shortened  their  sea  journey.  But  notwith- 
standing their  ample  means,  many  of  these  travellers 
were  constantly  found  endeavouring  to  land  duti- 
able articles.  In  short,  rich  and  poor,  high  and 
low,  there  was  no  class  that  did  not  endeavour  to 
engage  in  smuggling  either  directly  or  indirectly. 
Even  if  the  party  never  ventured  on  the  sea,  he 
might  be  a  very  active  aider  and  abettor  in  meet- 
ing the  boat  as  it  brought  the  casks  ashore,  or 
keeping  a  look  out  for  the  Preventive  men,  giving 
the  latter  false  information,  thus  throwing  them 
on  the  wrong  scent.  Or  again,  even  if  he  did  not 
act  the  part  of  signaller  by  showing  warning  lights 
from  the  cliff,  he  could  loan  his  cellars,  his  horses, 
or  his  financial  support.  In  fact  there  were  many 
apparently  respectable  citizens  who,  by  keeping  in 
the  background,  were  never  suspected  of  having 
any  interest  in  these  nefarious  practices,  whereas 
they  were  in  fact  the  instigators  and  the  capitalists 
of  many  a  successful  run.  And  as  such  they  were 
without  doubt  morally  responsible  for  the  deaths 
by  murder  which  occurred  in  those  incidents, 
when  violence  ^was  used  after  the  Revenue  men 
had  come  on  to  the  scene. 

But  as  to  morality,  was  there  ever  a  period 
when  the  national  character  was  so  slack  and 
corrupt  as  in  the  eighteenth  century  ? 

39 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   GROWTH    OF   SMUGGLING 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
smugghng  of  tea  into  the  country  had  reached 
such  extensive  limits  that  the  revenue  which 
ought  to  have  been  expected  from  this  source  was 
sinking  instead  of  rising.  In  fact  it  came  to  this, 
that  of  all  the  tea  that  was  consumed  in  this 
country  not  one  half  had  paid  duty  and  the  rest 
was  smuggled.  The  bands  of  smugglers  were  well 
financed,  were  themselves  hardy  sailors  and  skilful 
pilots.  They  had  some  of  the  best  designed  and 
best  built  cutters  and  luggers  of  that  time.  They 
were  able  to  purchase  from  an  almost  inexhaust- 
ible market,  and  to  make  a  quick  passage  to  the 
English  shores.  Arrived  there  they  could  rely  on 
both  moral  and  physical  support ;  for  their  friends 
were  well  mounted,  well  armed,  and  exceedingly 
numerous,  so  that  ordinarily  the  cargo  could  be 
rapidly  unshipped,  and  either  hidden  or  run  into 
the  country  with  despatch.  Not  once,  but  times 
without  number  the  smuggling  cutters  had  evaded 
the  Revenue  cruisers  at  sea,  showing  them  a  clean 
pair    of    heels.     With    equal    frequency    had   the 

Preventive  men  on  land  been  outwitted,  bribed, 

40 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

or  overpowered.  And  inasmuch  as  the  duties  on 
the  smuggled  articles  were  high,  had  they  passed 
through  the  Customs,  so,  when  smuggled,  they 
could  always  fetch  a  big  price,  and  the  share  for 
the  smugglers  themselves  was  by  no  means  in- 
considerable. But  it  is  always  the  case  that,  when 
large  profits  are  made  by  lawless,  reckless  people, 
these  proceeds  are  as  quickly  dissipated  in  extrava- 
gance of  living.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  these  sea- 
faring men,  who  possessed  so  much  grit  and  pluck, 
had  such  only  been  applied  in  a  right  direction, 
actually  died  paupers.  As  one  reads  through  the 
pitiful  petitions,  written  on  odd  scraps  of  paper  in 
the  most  illiterate  of  hands  begging  for  clemency 
on  behalf  of  a  convicted  smuggler,  one  can  see  all 
too  clearly  that  on  the  whole  it  was  not  the  actual 
workers  but  the  middle-men  who,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  made  the  profits.  A  life  of  such  un- 
certainty and  excitement,  an  existence  full  of  so 
many  hairbreadth  escapes  did  not  fit  them  for  the 
peaceful  life  either  of  the  fisherman  or  the  farmer. 
With  them  money  went  as  easily  as  it  had  come, 
and  taking  into  account  the  hardness  of  the  life, 
the  risks  that  were  undertaken,  the  possibility  of 
losing  their  lives,  or  of  being  transported  after 
conviction,  it  cannot  be  said  that  these  men  were 
any  too  well  paid.  Carelessness  of  danger  led  to 
recklessness  ;  recklessness  led  on  to  a  life  that  was 
dissolute  and  thriftless.     And  in  spite  of  the  fact 

that  these  tear-stained  appeals  were  usually  signed 

41 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

by  all  the  respectable  inhabitants  of  the  seaside 
village — the  rector,  the  local  shipbuilder,  Lloyds' 
shipping  agent,  the  chief  landowners  and  so  forth 
— many  a  wife  and  family  had  to  starve  or  become 
chargeable  to  the  L^nion,  while  the  breadwinner 
was  spending  his  time  in  prison,  serving  as  an 
impressed  sailor  on  board  one  of  his  Majesty's 
ships  against  the  enemy ;  or,  if  he  had  been  found 
physically  unfit  for  such  service,  condemned  to 
seven  or  more  years  of  transportation. 

But  by  the  year  1745  smuggling  had  reached 
such  a  pitch  that  something  had  to  be  done. 
The  country  was  in  such  a  state  of  alarm  and 
the  honest  traders  made  such  bitter  complaints 
of  the  disastrous  effect  which  these  illicit  practices 
were  having  on  their  prosperity  that,  on  the  6th 
of  February  in  that  year,  a  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee was  formed  "to  inquire  into  the  causes 
of  the  most  infamous  practice  of  smuggling  and 
consider  the  most  effectual  methods  to  prevent 
the  said  practice."  For  it  was  clear  that  in  spite 
of  all  that  had  been  done  by  the  Customs  and 
Excise,  by  the  Admiralty  and  the  military,  they 
had  not  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  desired  effect. 

And  during  the  course  of  this  inquiry  a  great 
deal  of  interesting  evidence  came  out  from  expert 
witnesses,  some  of  whom  had  not  long  since  been 
the  greatest  smugglers  in  existence,  but  had  come 
forward  and  received  the  pardon  of  the  State. 
We  may   summarise   the  testimony  obtained    by 

42 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

this  Committee  as  follows.  The  smugglers,  after 
sailing  away  from  England,  used  to  purchase  the 
tea  abroad  sometimes  with  money  but  at  other 
times  with  wool.  That  was  a  serious  matter  in 
either  alternative  if,  as  was  the  case,  the  trans- 
actions were  carried  on  to  any  large  extent ;  for 
the  country  simply  could  not  afford  to  be  denuded 
either  of  its  valuable  wool — since  that  crippled 
the  wool  manufactures— or  of  the  coin  of  the 
realm,  which  made  for  bankruptcy.  But  this 
was  not  all.  England  was  at  war  with  her  neigh- 
bours, and  the  French  only  too  gladly  admitted 
the  smuggling  vessels  into  her  ports,  since  these 
lawless  and  unpatriotic  men  were  able  to  give 
information  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  England. 
There  was  in  the  Isle  of  Man  at  this  time  no 
levying  of  Customs  or  other  duties,  so  that  be- 
tween that  island  and  France  there  was  kept  up 
a  constant  trade  especially  in  teas,  other  East 
India  goods  and  brandies,  which  were  afterwards 
conveyed  clandestinely  to  English  ports,  especi- 
ally to  Liverpool,  as  already  we  have  noted,  and 
also  to  Glasgow,  Dumfries,  as  well  as  to  Ireland. 
In  the  days  when  there  were  sloops  at  Liverpool 
doing  duty  for  the  Crown  they  used  to  set  forth 
and  do  their  best  to  stop  this  running,  "  but  as 
it  is  a  very  dangerous  station,  a  seizure  is  scarce 
heard  of." 

As  illustrative  of  the  achievements  of  smugglers 
at  that  time  let  us  mention  that  it  was  reported 

43 


KINCx'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

officially  from  Yarmouth  that  on  July  11  fifty 
smugglers  had  run  a  cargo  of  tea  and  brandy 
at  Benacre  in  Suffolk,  and  only  a  fortnight  later 
a  band  of  sixty  smugglers  landed  another  contra- 
band cargo  at  the  same  place,  while  a  gang  of 
forty  got  another  cargo  safely  ashore  at  Kesland 
Haven,  A  week  later  a  still  larger  band,  this 
time  consisting  of  seventy,  passed  through  Benacre 
Street  with  a  large  quantity  of  goods,  a  cart  and 
four  horses.  The  sn:iugglers  at  Kesland  Haven 
had  been  able  to  bring  inland  their  cargo  of  tea 
and  brandy  by  means  of  fifty  horses.  In  one 
month  alone — and  this  at  the  depth  of  the  winter 
when  cross-channel  passages  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  be  too  safe  for  small  sailing  craft — 
nine  smuggling  cutters  had  sailed  from  the  port 
of  Rye  to  Guernsey ;  and  it  was  estimated  that 
during  the  last  half  of  the  year  there  had  been 
run  on  to  the  coast  of  Suffolk  1835  horse-loads 
of  tea  as  well  as  certain  other  goods,  and  1689 
horse-loads  of  wet  and  dry  goods,  to  say  nothing 
of  a  large  quantity  of  other  articles  that  should 
have  paid  duty.  These  were  conveyed  away  up 
country  by  means  of  waggons  and  other  vehicles, 
guarded  by  a  formidable  band  of  smugglers  and 
sympathisers  well  armed.  Notwithstanding  that 
the  Revenue  officers  were  in  some  cases  aware  of 
what  was  going  on,  yet  they  positively  dared  not 
attempt   any   seizures.       And   in   those   instances 

where  they  had  undertaken  the  risk  they  had  been 

44 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

frequently  beaten  and  left  cruelly  wounded  with 
bleeding  heads  and  broken  limbs. 

One  reliable  witness  testified  that  whereas  it 
was  computed  that  at  this  time  about  4,000,000  lbs. 
of  tea  M^ere  consumed  in  this  kingdom,  yet  only 
about  800,000  lbs,  of  this  had  ever  paid  duty, 
so  that  there  was  considerably  over  3,000,000  lbs. 
weight  of  tea  smuggled  in.  Therefore  on  this 
one  item  of  tea  alone  the  loss  to  the  Crown 
must  have  been  something  enormous.  Multiply 
this  by  the  long  years  during  which  the  smuggling 
went  on,  add  also  the  duties  which  ought  to 
have  been  paid  on  tobacco  and  spirits,  even  if 
you  omit  to  include  the  amount  which  should 
have  accrued  from  lace  and  other  commodities, 
and  you  may  begin  to  realise  the  seriousness  of 
the  smuggling  evil  as  viewed  by  the  Revenue 
authorities. 

It  was  noted  that  a  great  deal  of  this  con- 
traband stuff  was  fetched  over  from  Flushing 
and  from  Middleburgh,  a  few  miles  farther  up 
on  the  canal.  The  big  merchant  sailing  ships 
brought  the  tea  from  the  East  to  Holland, 
France,  Sweden,  and  Denmark.  But  the  Dutch, 
the  French,  the  Swedes,  and  the  Danes  were  not 
great  tea  drinkers,  and  certainly  used  it  in  nothing 
like  the  quantities  which  were  consumed  in  Eng- 
land. But  it  was  profitable  to  them  to  purchase 
this  East  Indian  product  and  to  sell  it  again  to 

the  smugglers  who  were  wont  to  run  across  from 

45 


KING'S    CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

England.  It  should  be  added,  however,  that  the 
species  of  tea  in  question  were  of  the  cheaper 
qualities.  It  was  also  frankly  admitted  in  evi- 
dence that  many  of  the  civil  magistrates,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  grant  warrants  for  the  arrest  of 
these  delinquents,  were  intimidated  by  the  smug- 
glers, while  the  officers  of  the  Customs  and  Excise 
were  terrorised. 

At  this  period  of  the  smuggling  era,  that  is 
to  say  prior  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, most  of  the  smuggled  tea  was  brought  over 
to  the  south  coast  of  England  in  Folkestone  cutters 
of  a  size  ranging  from  fifty  to  forty  tons  burthen. 
These  vessels  usually  came  within  about  three 
or  four  miles  of  the  shore,  when  they  were 
met  by  the  smaller  boats  of  the  locality  and  the 
goods  unladened.  Indeed  the  trade  was  so  suc- 
cessful that  as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  cargoes 
were  run  in  a  week,  and  Flushing  became  so 
important  a  base  that  not  merely  did  the  natives 
subsidise  or  purchase  Folkestone  craft,  but  ship- 
builders actually  migrated  from  that  English  port 
to  Flushing  and  pursued  their  calling  in  Dutch 
territory.  As  to  the  reward  which  the  smugglers 
themselves  made  out  of  the  transaction,  the  rates 
of  payment  varied  at  a  later  date,  but  about  the 
years  1728  and  1729  the  tea-dealers  paid  the  men 
eight  shillings  a  pound  for  the  commodity.  And 
in  spite  of  the  seizures  which  were  made  by  the 
Revenue   cutters  and   the  land  guard,  yet  these 

46 


THE    GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

losses,  admitted  a  witness,  were  a  mere  trifle  to 
the  smugglers.  In  fact  he  affirmed  that  some- 
times one  tea-dealer  never  suffered  a  seizure  in 
six  or  seven  years.  We  can  therefore  readily 
believe  that  the  financiers  netted  a  very  handsome 
profit  on  the  whole,  and  there  are  still  standing 
plenty  of  fine  mansions  in  different  parts  of  our 
country  which  are  generally  supposed  to  have 
been  erected  from  the  proceeds  of  this  form  of 
activity. 

There  was  a  kind  of  local  intelligence  bureau 
in  most  of  the  smuggling  centres  on  the  south 
coast,  and  so  loyal  and  so  watchful  were  these 
craftsmen  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast-line 
managed  to  let  their  confreres  know  when  the 
Custom  House  sloops  had  sailed  out  of  port  or 
when  they  hauled  up  for  repairs  and  refit.  As 
a  consequence  the  smuggling  craft  commonly 
escaped  capture.  Animated  by  a  natural  hatred 
of  all  Government  officials  in  general,  especially 
of  all  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  collect  taxes, 
dues,  and  any  kind  of  tolls ;  disliking  most  of  all 
the  men  of  the  Customs  and  Excise,  and,  further, 
being  allied  by  sympathy  and  blood  relationship  to 
many  of  the  smugglers  themselves,  it  was  almost 
impossible  for  the  representatives  of  the  Crown 
to  make  any  steady  progress  in  their  work.  We 
all  know  that  when  a  number  of  even  average  law- 
abiding  people  get  together,  that  crowd  somehow 

tends   towards    becoming   a  mob.     Each   person, 

47 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

so  to  speak,  forfeits  his  own  individuality,  that 
becomes  merged  into  the  personality  and  character 
of  the  mob,  wliich  all  the  time  is  being  impelled 
to  break  out  into  something  unlawful  of  a  minor 
or  greater  degree.  Whenever  you  have  stood 
among  crowds  you  must  have  noted  this  for  your- 
self. It  gets  restive  at  the  least  opposition  with 
which  it  is  confronted,  it  boos  and  jeers  with  the 
smallest  incitement ;  and,  finally,  realising  the  full 
strength  of  its  unity,  breaks  out  into  some  rash 
violence  and  rushes  madly  on,  heedless  of  the  re- 
sults. Many  murders  have  been  in  this  way 
committed  by  men  who  ordinarily  and  in  their 
individual  capacity  would  shrink  from  such  crimes. 
But  having  become  merely  one  of  the  limbs,  as 
it  were,  of  the  crowd  they  have  moved  with  the 
latter  and  obeyed  its  impulses. 

It  was  just  the  same  when  many  of  the  dwellers 
of  the  country-side,  many  of  the  fishermen, 
labourers,  and  farm-hands  found  themselves  as- 
sembled on  the  report  of  a  pistol  shot  or  the  cry 
of  angry  voices  coming  up  from  the  beach  below. 
Something  was  happening,  some  one  was  in  trouble, 
and  the  darkness  of  the  night  or  the  gloom  of 
the  fog  added  a  halo  of  mystery  round  the  occa- 
sion. Men  and  women  came  out  from  their  cot- 
tages, some  one  got  hit,  and  then  a  general  affray 
began.  Clubs  and  pistols  and  cutlasses  were  busy, 
men  were  bellowing  forth  oaths,  women  shriek- 
ing, and   the   galloping   of  horses   heard   rapidly 

48 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

approaching.  Amid  such  excitements  we  can 
readily  understand  that  a  good  many  acts  of  violence 
and  deep  injury  occurred  which  afterwards,  when 
the  heat  of  the  event  had  vaporised,  were  regretted. 
At  the  same  time,  notwithstanding  that  one  is 
aware  that  the  men  were  engaged  in  an  unlawful 
pursuit  and  that  they  themselves  fully  appreciated 
their  degree  of  guilt,  yet  we  cannot  but  feel  some 
sort  of  sympathy  with  a  crew  who,  after  a  long 
and  exciting  passage  through  bad  weather  all  the 
way  across  the  Channel,  after  perhaps  a  breathless 
race  against  the  Government  cruisers,  had  finally 
succeeded  in  landing  their  tubs  on  the  shore  only 
to  be  pounced  on  immediately  by  the  riding 
officers  and  a  posse  of  dragoons.  It  must  have 
been  heart-breaking  that  all  their  carefully  laid 
plans,  all  their  hardships  and  trials  should  end 
in  disaster.  Realising  this  and  that  their  craft 
as  well  as  their  persons  would  be  seized,  it  was 
but  natural  that  they  would  fight  like  the  most 
desperate  of  men.  And,  at  the  same  time,  those 
their  relatives  on  shore  who  largely  depended  on 
them  for  their  bread  and  butter  would  rush  to 
their  aid  with  a  spirit  and  an  impetuosity  that 
could  only  end  in  one  way.  The  pity  of  it  all 
was  that  so  much  fine  daring  and  enthusiasm  were 
not  being  employed  for  a  better  cause  and  for 
more  worthy  results. 

But  the  smugglers  found  that,  contrary  to  what 
one   would    expect,   their   greatest   risk   was   not 

49  D 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

when  landing  the  goods,  but  when  bringing  them 
across  from  the  Continent.  A  seizure  on  land 
was,  at  any  rate  during  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  comparatively  rare  if  they 
had  been  able  to  get  away  from  the  sloops  and 
cutters.  For  the  bodyguard  of  armed  men  on 
horseback  who  promptly  met  and  escorted  the 
contraband  into  the  country  frequently  did  as 
they  had  planned.  And  when  once  the  tea  has 
arrived  inland  it  was  easily  sold  to  people  who 
bought  it  not  in  small  quantities  but  took  as 
much  as  1000  lbs.  at  a  time.  In  addition,  there 
were  a  number  of  men  called  "  duffers,"  who  used 
to  walk  inland  wearing  coats  in  which  a  hundred- 
weight of  tea  was  concealed  between  two  layers 
of  cloth  stitched  together.  They  were  accordingly 
said  to  "  quilt "  so  much  of  this  commodity. 
These  duffers,  having  set  forth  on  their  walk, 
would  eventually  arrive  in  London  and  dispose 
of  the  tea  to  hawkers  who,  in  turn,  carried  it 
about  the  town  and  sold  it  to  the  consumers,  who, 
even  if  they  had  possessed  any  scruples,  could  not 
possibly  know  that  the  leaves  had  been  smuggled 
in  without  paying  the  Crown's  levy. 

But  it  was  not  merely  by  exercising  the  strict- 
est vigilance  on  the  activities  of  the  Government 
sloops  and  land  officers,  nor  entirely  by  resort  to 
trickery  and  violence,  to  threats  and  intimidation 
that  the  smugglers  managed  to  keep  out  of  the 

hands  of  justice.     They  even  advanced  one  step 

50 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

further  still,  for  there  was  a  man  named  Norton 
whom  they  employed  as  their  agent  to  defend 
them  against  prosecutions.  This  Norton  at  one 
time  had  actually  been  in  the  employ  of  the 
Crown  as  clerk  of  the  late  Solicitor  to  the  Customs. 
And  it  was  generally  believed  that  Norton  by 
some  means — most  probably  by  offering  tempting 
bribes — obtained  news  from  the  clerks  of  the 
Customs'  solicitor  when  a  smuggler  was  likely 
to  be  arrested  and  a  warrant  was  about  to  be 
issued.  Norton  was  then  supposed  to  give  the 
smuggler  an  immediate  warning  and  the  man  was 
able  to  make  himself  scarce.  It  was  quite  an 
easy  operation,  for  in  those  days  when  there  was 
no  telegraph  and  no  steamboat  service  across  the 
Channel,  all  the  "  wanted "  man  had  to  do  was 
instantly  to  board  his  cutter,  set  sail,  and  hurry 
across  to  France  or  Holland,  where  he  was  sure  of 
a  welcome,  where  also  he  could  employ  himself  in 
arranging  for  cargoes  to  be  run  into  England 
perhaps  in  the  very  vessel  which  had  brought  him 
across.  There  were  plenty  of  his  compatriots 
resident  in  Flushing,  so  he  need  not  feel  home- 
sick, and  when  at  last  the  incident  had  blown  over 
he  could  find  his  way  back  to  Kent  or  Sussex. 

It  was  reckoned  that  about  this  time  there 
were  at  least  20,000  people  in  England  employed 
in  smuggling,  and  in  some  parts  (as,  for  instance, 
the  village  of  Hawkhurst,  about  which  we  shall 

have    more    to    say    presently)    gangs    of    large 

51 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

numbers  could  be  got  together  in  a  very  short 
time.  In  Hawkhurst  alone  500  smugglers  could 
be  collected  within  an  hour.  Folkestone,  how- 
ever, ran  Hawkhurst  fairly  close  with  a  similar 
notoriety.  Such  gangs,  well  armed  as  they  were, 
Avent  about  with  impunity,  for  notwithstanding 
that  they  were  well  known,  yet  no  one  dared  to 
molest  them. 

AVe  mentioned  just  now  that  the  danger  to 
the  State  of  this  import  smuggling  was  not  merely 
that  goods  w^ere  brought  into  the  country  without 
payment  being  made  to  the  Customs,  but  that 
inasmuch  as  the  contraband  goods  were  purchased 
abroad  partly  by  wool  and  partly  by  actual  coin 
England  was  being  robbed  both  ways.  And  as  the 
wool  exportation  declined  and  the  import  smug- 
gling rose,  so  the  amount  of  gold  that  passed 
out  of  the  country  seriously  increased.  At  least 
£1,000,000  sterling  were  carried  out  of  the  king- 
dom each  year  to  purchase  these  goods,  and  of 
this  amount  somew^here  about  £800,000  were  paid 
for  tea  alone.  At  a  later  date  the  price  of  tea 
often  went  up,  but  the  dealer  still  made  a  profit  of 
40s.  on  every  100  lbs.  We  alluded  just  now  also 
to  the  dangers  of  seizure,  and  it  is  worth  remark- 
ing that  these  were  recognised  by  the  smugglers 
as  being  greater  in  one  district  than  in  another. 
For  instance,  it  was  much  more  difficult  to  run 
goods  into  the  counties  of  Kent  and  Sussex  than 

into  Suffolk,  owing  to  the   fleet  at  sea  and   the 

52 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

troops  on  the  coast.  And  as  to  the  amount  of 
support  which  could  be  relied  on  it  was  an  ad- 
mitted fact  that  there  was  not  one  person  in  ten 
in  the  country  but  would  give  the  smugglers 
assistance,  and  even  lend  them  horses  and  carts. 
For  the  use  of  these  the  smugglers  made  payment 
at  an  increased  rate . 

There  was  one  witness  before  this  Commission 
who  stated  that  he  knew  of  about  sixty  English 
cutters  of  from  thirty  to  forty  tons  burthen  each, 
and  five  or  six  vessels  of  the  same  burthen  belong- 
ing to  merchants  at  Flushing  which  were  employed 
constantly  in  running  goods   across  to  England, 
and  several  of  those  who  gave  evidence  confessed 
that  they  had  for  years  been  actively  engaged  in 
smuggling,  but  had  taken  advantage  of  the  late 
Act  of  Indemnity.     One  reason  alleged  for  smug- 
gling tea  was  that  the  East  India  Company  did  not 
sufficiently  supply  the  dealers  with  the  low-priced 
kinds,  whereas  the  Dutch  did.     And  it  was  further 
contended  that  if  the  price  of  tea  were  lessened 
sixpence  per  lb.  it  would  put  a  stop  to  smuggling 
of  the  commodity,  for  at  this  date,  although  other 
articles  such  as  spirits  and  tobacco  were  brought 
in,  yet  there  was  far  more  tea  run  than  anything 
else.     But  at  the  same  time  the  smugglers  rather 
liked  to  include  a  quantity  of  brandy  casks  among 
their  cargo  for  the  reason  that  they  were  heavy 
and  made  very  good  ballast.     And  as  to  the  ships 

themselves,    it    was    agreed    that    those    of    the 

5B 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

smugglers  were  the  best  sailing  fore-and-afters 
that  were  built  in  those  days,  and  could  easily  out- 
sail both  the  King's  ships  and  the  Custom  House 
sloops.  P^inally,  it  was  shown  that  in  spite  of  the 
large  and  tempting  rewards  that  were  offered  by 
advertisement  for  the  apprehension  of  those  persons 
who  had  been  concerned  in  smuggling,  no  one  had 
come  forward  to  give  information  for  the  reason 
that,  even  if  he  would,  he  dared  not.  And  so 
fascinating  was  the  call  of  smuggling,  that  although 
there  were  those  who  had  willingly  embraced  the 
pardon  granted  them  by  the  recent  Act,  forsaken 
this  illegal  trade  and  settled  down  on  farms  or 
devoted  themselves  to  other  occupations  which 
were  within  the  law,  yet  there  were  many  others 
who  had  returned  to  their  former  practices. 

After  accumulating  this  evidence,  the  Com- 
mittee issued  their  first  report  on  March  24,  1745, 
and  expressed  themselves  of  the  opinion  that  the 
high  duties  charged  on  tea  and  other  commodities 
had  certainly  been  one  cause  of  smuggling.  But 
they  also  added  that  the  exposing  for  sale  of  those 
boats  and  vessels  which  had  been  seized  from  the 
smugglers  was  certainly  another  potent  reason,  for 
these  craft  were  frequently  bought  back  by  the 
men ;  they  therefore  recommended  that  all  captured 
craft  should  be  burned.  Furthermore,  the  Com- 
mission condemned  the  custom  of  allowing  penal- 
ties to  be  compounded  so  easily.     As  an  instance 

of    this    last-mentioned    custom    we    might    call 

54 


THE   GROWTH   OF   SMUGGLING 

attention  to  three  smugglers  belonging  to  the 
county  of  Hampshire.  There  is  a  reference  to 
them  in  the  Southampton  Letters  under  date  of 
April  28, 1730,  from  which  it  appears  that  Matthew 
Barton,  John  Gibort,  and  William  Moadon  of 
Fordingbridge  were  under  prosecution  for  running 
goods  ashore.  They  subsequently  offered  to  com- 
pound for  the  said  offence  on  the  following  terms : 
Barton  to  pay  the  sum  of  £35,  Gibort  to  pay  £25, 
and  Moadon  £15.  But  before  allowing  the  matter 
to  be  settled  straight  away  the  Collector  and 
Comptroller  at  Southampton  were  ordered  to  look 
carefully  into  the  affair  and  to  inquire  what  these 
men  were  generally  esteemed  to  be  worth. 


55 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   SMUGGLERS'    METHODS 

It  was  not  till  June  of  1746  that  the  Committee 
issued  their  second  report,  and  the  evidence  there- 
in contained  is  even  more  interesting  to  us  than 
any  which  had  hitherto  been  given.  After  the 
Solicitor  to  the  Commissioners  had  shown  how 
biassed  juries  frequently  were  towards  prisoners 
brought  up  on  charges  connected  with  smuggling, 
how  they  declined  to  bring  in  a  verdict  against 
them  even  in  spite  of  the  clearest  of  evidence, 
another  official  (the  Surveyor  of  the  Searchers  in 
the  Port  of  London)  stated  that  when  he  had 
received  information  that  there  had  been  a  run 
of  goods  in  a  certain  locality  and  had  even  re- 
ceived information  as  to  the  road  along  which  they 
would  be  brought,  he  had  been  compelled  to 
travel  by  night  and  carefully  to  avoid  all  the 
beaten  paths.  Indeed,  if  people  whom  they 
might  meet  on  the  road  noticed  a  Custom  House 
officer  and  any  soldiers  together,  their  design 
would  immediately  be  suspected  and  warning 
would  promptly  be  sent  to  the  smugglers,  who 
would  hide  their  goods.  He  added,  also,  that  he 
remembered   on   one   occasion   that   a   couple    of 

56 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

vessels  landed  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet  as  much  tea 
as  could  be  loaded  on  the  backs  of  two  hundred 
horses. 

But  it  was  when  the  ex-smugglers  came  to 
give  their  evidence  that  the  real  secrets  of  the 
trade  were  unfolded.  Robert  Hanning,  who  for 
years  had  been  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
members  of  the  industry,  informed  the  Com- 
mission that  formerly  he  was  the  principal  dealer 
with  the  smugglers  when  he  resided  at  Dunkirk. 
Some  idea  of  the  colossal  business  which  he  had 
carried  on  may  be  gathered  from  his  admission 
that  he  had  sold  teas,  brandies,  and  wines  to  be 
run  into  England  to  the  eoctent  of  £40,000  per 
annum.  And  let  us  not  forget  to  bear  in  mind 
that  of  course  this  probably  represented  the  value 
of  the  goods  when  they  were  put  on  board.  What 
they  actually  realised  after  they  were  smuggled 
into  the  English  market  must  have  been  something 
considerable. 

Hanning  was  followed  by  a  certain  Captain 
Joseph  Cockburn,  who  had  a  very  instructive 
story  to  tell,  which  must  have  amazed  even  the 
Commissioners.  This  gallant  skipper  was  now 
commanding  one  of  his  Majesty's  sloops,  but 
prior  to  that  he  had  been  engaged  in  privateering, 
and  before  that  had  commanded  several  vessels 
employed  in  smuggling.  From  his  very  infancy 
he  had  been  concerned  in  the  practice  of  running 
goods,  and  his  apprenticeship  had  been  served  to  a 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

smuggler  at  Rochester,  who  was  nominally  a  fisher- 
man. Consequently,  with  an  accumulated  know- 
ledge obtained  first  as  a  smuggler  and  subsequently 
as  a  pursuer  of  smugglers,  there  was  not  much,  if 
anything  at  all,  in  connection  with  the  work  which 
could  have  missed  his  attention.  He  proved 
himself  a  veritable  encyclopaedia  of  smuggling 
information,  and  even  the  following  brief  summary 
will  show  that  his  experience  was  something 
exceptional. 

First  of  all,  he  instanced  the  case  of  five  cutters 
which  he  knew  were  constantly  employed  in 
running  tea  and  brandy  from  Boulogne  into 
Kent  and  Sussex.  They  imported  at  least  six 
tons  of  tea  and  two  thousand  half-ankers  of 
brandy  every  week.  He  estimated  that  the  six 
tons  of  tea  would  be  purchased  abroad  for  £1920. 
The  two  thousand  half-ankers  of  brandy,  even  if 
they  cost  but  ten  shillings  apiece,  would  represent 
the  sum  of  £1000  ;  so  altogether  there  was  a  total 
of  nearly  £3000  being  carried  out  of  the  country 
in  specie  every  week  by  these  five  cutters  alone. 
But  he  also  knew  of  five  other  cutters  which  were 
constantly  employed  in  fetching  brandy  and  tea 
from  Middleburgh  and  Flushing,  and  he  reckoned 
that  these  ten  cutters  in  the  aggregate  smuggled 
into  the  United  Kingdom  each  year  goods  to  the 
value  of  £303,680.  Possibly  there  was  no  living 
person   who    possessed    so   perfect    and   exact    a 

knowledge  of  the  smuggling  trade,  so  we  can  have 

58 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

little  reason  to  doubt  for  a  moment  the  veracity 
of  his  figures. 

Passing,  then,  to  describe  the  methods  em- 
ployed by  these  men,  he  divided  them  into  two 
classes.  Firstly,  there  were  those  adopted  by  the 
cutters  and  smacks  which  did  little  else  than 
smuggle,  and,  secondly,  there  were  the  British  ships 
which  primarily  carried  on  a  legitimate  trade  to 
foreign  parts.  As  to  the  first  class,  the  practice  of 
these  cutters  and  smacks  was  to  put  to  sea  from 
whatever  port  to  which  they  belonged — London, 
Dover,  Rye,  Folkestone,  or  wherever  it  might  be 
— having  on  board  a  small  number  of  hands, 
their  professed  object  being  to  fish.  Having  stood 
some  distance  away  from  the  land,  they  would  be 
met  during  the  night  by  a  number  of  smaller 
craft,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  would  take 
on  board  from  the  latter  large  crews,  much 
merchandise,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  money. 
The  smaller  craft  rowed  or  sailed  back  to  the 
beach  before  daylight,  and  the  bigger  craft,  now 
well  supplied  with  men,  money,  and  merchandise, 
stood  on  their  course  for  some  Dutch  or  French 
port.  There  they  purchased  such  goods  as  they 
required,  disposed  of  those  which  they  had 
brought,  and  again  set  sail  for  home.  The  vessel 
was  again  met  at  a  convenient  distance  from  the 
English  shore  by  smaller  boats  if  a  favourable 
signal  had  been  flashed  from  the  land ;  and,  using 

the  darkness   of  the   night,   once  more  both   the 

59 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

cargo  and  the  supernumerary  men  were  put  into 
the  boats,  after  which  the  latter  ran  the  stuff 
ashore  in  casks  already  slung  and  in  bales,  while 
the  smack  headed  for  her  harbour  whence  she  had 
set  out.  As  she  had  just  the  same  small  crew  as 
before  no  suspicions  were  aroused,  and  it  was  pre- 
sumed she  had  been  out  fishing. 

But  additional  to  these  comparatively  large 
vessels  there  were  smaller  craft — open  boats,  yawls, 
and  little  sloops — which  in  fine  weather  were  wont 
to  run  across  from  the  south  coast  of  England 
to  Boulogne,  Guernsey,  and  from  the  west  of 
England  to  the  Isle  of  Man.  They  also  loaded  up 
with  as  much  cargo  as  they  could  carry,  and,  since 
they  were  able  to  be  beached,  the  process  of 
discharging  their  contents  as  soon  as  they  returned 
was  much  simpler.  These  smaller  craft  also  were 
in  the  habit  of  running  out  well  clear  of  the  land 
and  meeting  Dutch  vessels,  from  which  they  would 
purchase  similar  kinds  of  goods  and  run  them  in 
by  the  usual  methods.  In  these  lesser  craft  were 
frequently  carried  a  great  many  stones,  anchors, 
and  heavy  weights  by  means  of  which  the  half- 
ankers  of  brandy  could  be  sunk  near  the  shore  and 
afterwards  taken  up  as  required.  The  exact  way 
in  which  this  was  done  we  shall  discuss  fully  in  a 
later  chapter. 

Some  of  the  cobbles,  "  hovelings,"  and  small 
fishing  craft  that  were  accustomed  to  run  out 
to  big   sailing    merchantmen   under    pretence   of 

60 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

shipping  pilots  to  take  them  into  the  next  port, 
were  actually  engaged  in  smuggling  all  sorts  of 
goods  out  of  these  ships.  Perhaps  it  was  a  lurking 
sympathy  with  the  men  engaged  in  a  trade  with 
which  his  earlier  years  had  been  so  intimately 
associated  that  made  Captain  Cockburn  suggest 
that  it  was  because  the  Dutchmen  brought  such 
large  quantities  of  fish  into  Billingsgate  that  the 
English  fishermen  found  their  work  unprofitable, 
and  were  accordingly  driven  to  devote  themselves 
to  smuggling.  But  from  evidence  in  other  docu- 
ments it  would  certainly  seem  that  Cockburn  was 
speaking  the  truth  and  that  the  fishing  industry 
was  not  a  very  good  livelihood  at  that  time. 

Then,  secondly,  there  was  the  smuggling  that 
was  carried  on  by  the  trading  sailing  ships  from 
abroad.  Great  quantities  of  goods  were  being 
run  into  the  country  by  colliers — they  were  usually 
brig-rigged — by  corn-ships,  packet-boats  from  the 
Continent  and  other  vessels  trading  with  Holland. 
At  least,  one  thousand  five  hundred  vessels  were 
engaged  in  this  trade,  "  and,"  added  Cockburn, 
*'  he  scarcely  ever  knew  one  of  them  return  with- 
out some  prohibited  or  high  duty  goods."  The 
smuggling  from  these  vessels  was  done  in  various 
ways.  There  were  the  pilot-boats  and  fishing  craft 
which  frequently  met  them  near  the  coast,  as 
already  explained.  Another  way  was  for  the 
merchantmen  to  put  into  harbours,  roadsteads,  and 

rivers,  where  they  lay  at  anchor  under  pretence  of 

61 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

waiting  for  orders.  Another  method  sLill,  that  was 
as  simple  as  it  was  successful,  consisted  of  landing 
their  goods  at  outports  on  such  holidays  as  the 
King's  birthday,  kc,  when  the  Revenue  officers 
were  absent.  Cockburn  admitted  that  he  had 
done  this  himself  and  had  run  great  quantities  of 
brandies,  teas,  and  Spanish  liquorice  even  as  much  as 
nearly  a  ton  of  the  latter  at  a  time.  But  besides 
these  two  classes  there  was  a  third.  The  whole  of 
the  coasting  trade  in  those  days  was  of  course 
done  in  sailing  ships ;  and  inasmuch  as  there  were 
no  railways  for  carrying  merchandise  there  was  a 
good  deal  more  encouragement  for  the  sailing 
ship  owner  than  there  is  to-day.  The  methods 
of  smuggling  adopted  by  these  coasters  was  a 
little  more  complicated,  and  this  was  done  by 
such  means  as  fraudulently  obtaining  permits,  by 
cockets  clandestinely  obtained,  by  false  entry  of 
one  sort  of  goods  for  another,  and  by  corrupting 
the  Customs'  officers.  To  prove  his  case  the 
captain  gave  the  following  examples,  all  of  "which 
he  had  himself  eniploijed  since  the  year  1738  ! 

As  regards  the  obtaining  of  permits  fraudu- 
lently, he  said  that  he  had  gone  to  Dunkirk,  taken 
aboard  2040  gallons  of  French  brandy  and  cleared 
for  North  Bergen  in  Norway.  Of  course  he  had 
no  intention  whatever  of  steering  for  that  port, 
but  in  case  he  met  any  of  the  Custom  House  sloops 
as  he  approached  the  English  coast,  it  would  be 

convenient  to  show  this  clearance  and  so  prevent 

62 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

his  brandy  being  seized.  From  Dunkirk,  then,  he 
sailed  across  the  North  Sea  and  ran  up  the  river 
Humber.  There,  by  previous  arrangement,  one  of 
those  keels  which  are  so  well  known  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Humber  and  Trent  met 
him.  The  keel  had  been  sent  from  York  down 
the  Ouse  with  permits  to  cover  the  brandy.  The 
keel  was  cleared  by  a  merchant  at  York,  who 
obtained  permits  for  conveying  to  Gainsborough  a 
quantity  of  French  brandy  equal  to  that  which 
Cockburn  had  on  board  his  ship,  though  in  fact 
the  keel,  notwithstanding  that  she  obtained  these 
permits,  set  forth  with  no  brandy  in  her  at  all. 

It  was  the  point  where  the  Ouse  crosses  the 
Trent  at  right  angles  that  had  been  arranged  as 
the  trysting-place,  and  there  the  keel  took  on 
board  from  Cockburn  the  brandy  which  had  come 
from  Dunkirk.  Cockburn  himself  nailed  the  per- 
mits on  to  the  heads  of  the  casks,  which  in  due 
course  were  taken  by  the  keel,  when  the  flood  tide 
made  again,  to  Gainsborough  some  distance  up  the 
Trent.  Arrived  there  the  casks  were  properly 
taken  into  stock  and  entered  in  the  Custom  House 
books  as  if  the  brandy  had  been  actually  brought 
down  from  York  and  had  previously  paid  duty. 
On  this  one  venture  the  garrulous  skipper  ad- 
mitted that  he  cleared  a  profit  by  the  brandy  of 
£250  per  cent.,  which  was  a  remarkably  handsome 
reward  for  so  short  a  voyage  as  from  Dunkirk. 

Port    wines,    he    said,    were    purchasable    at 
63 


KING'S   CUTTEKS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

iJunkirk  because  these  had  been  taken  from  Eng- 
lish merchantmen  by  privateers ;  and  since  there 
was  httle  or  no  market  for  such  wines  in  Spain  they 
were  brought  into  Dunkirk,  whither  resorted  the 
smugglers  eager  to  buy  them.  He  proceeded  also 
to  explain  another  method  of  cheating  the  customs. 
Large  quantities  of  very  inferior  British  brandy 
were  taken  on  board  a  ship  and  clearance  was 
obtained  for  some  other  English  port,  but  instead 
of  proceeding  to  the  latter  the  vessel  would  run 
across  to  Dunkirk  or  Holland,  where  she  would 
unload  the  cheap  brandy,  and  in  its  place  take  on 
board  some  high-priced  French  brandy  equal  in 
quantity  to  the  British  commodity  which  had  been 
put  ashore  at  the  French  port.  After  this,  with 
now  a  much  more  valuable  cargo,  the  vessel  would 
put  to  sea  again  and  make  for  that  British  port  for 
which  originally  she  had  cleared.  And  as  to  the 
practice  of  bribery,  he  himself  had  several  times 
bought  permits  from  the  Excise  officers  to  cover 
smuggled  brandy  and  tea.  On  one  occasion  he 
had  paid  an  officer  fifty  guineas  for  a  permit  to 
cover  a  certain  quantity  of  tea  and  brandy  about 
to  be  run  into  the  country. 

Next  came  Captain  Ebenezer  Hartley,  who 
had  also  formerly  commanded  a  ship  that  was 
engaged  in  smuggling.  He  had  known  of  large 
quantities  of  muslins  and  silks  brought  into  the 
country  on   board  East   Indiamen.     These  goods 

were   smuggled   by   throwing   them  through   the 

64 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

port-holes  at  night  into  boats  waiting  below,  along- 
side the  ship,  or  whilst  the  Custom  officer  was 
being  entertained  on  board  with  food  and  drink. 
Sometimes,  he  said,  this  was  even  done  under  the 
very  eyes  of  the  Revenue  officer,  who  took  no 
notice  of  it.  He  recalled  an  incident  in  an  earlier 
part  of  his  life  when  he  had  sailed  from  England 
to  Holland,  in  which  country  he  had  filled  up  with 
twenty-six  casks  of  oil.  After  that  his  orders  were 
to  cross  the  North  Sea  and  meet  a  certain  vessel 
which  would  await  him  off  Aldborough.  This  last- 
mentioned  craft  would  give  Hartley's  vessel  the 
signal  by  lowering  her  jib  three  times. 

A  more  tragic  story  was  related  by  George 
Bridges,  a  tidesman  of  the  Port  of  London.  He 
showed  that  it  did  not  always  "  pay  "  to  be  diligent 
in  one's  duty,  for  he  quoted  the  case  of  a  Captain 
Mercer,  in  the  employ  of  the  Custom  House,  whe 
did  now  and  then  make  a  seizure,  but  he  "  was 
broke  for  doing  his  duty  "  ;  and  when  Mercer  came 
into  Cork  on  the  occasion  in  question,  the  mob  set 
upon  him  so  that  he  was  compelled  to  escape  into 
the  sheriff's  house.  The  mob  then  surrounded 
the  house  in  their  thousands  until  the  sherif?'  inter- 
ceded with  them.  They  were  wild  with  fury  and 
threatened  to  pull  the  house  down,  until  the  sheriflt 
gave  them  his  oath  that  Captain  Mercer  should 
never  again  be  guilty  of  seizing  the  wool  which  the 
smugglers  had  endeavoured  to  export.  But  the 
mob  afterwards  went  to  Passage  and  took  hold  of 

65  E 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

a  Custom  House  officer  named  May.  They 
brought  him  fortli  from  his  house,  cut  out  his 
tongue,  and  cut  off  his  ears,  one  of  which  the 
witness  said  he  remembered  seeing  nailed  on  to 
the  Cork  Exchange.  They  dragged  the  man  with 
a  rope  round  his  neck,  gave  him  several  blows, 
hurled  him  into  the  river,  and  finally  the  poor 
fellow  died  of  his  ill-treatment.  Although  hand- 
some rewards  were  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the 
offenders,  yet  no  one  ever  came  forward. 

One  could  quote  similar  instances  of  the 
vehemence  of  the  smugglers  from  other  sources. 
For  instance,  on  February  2, 1748-49,  the  Collector 
of  the  Port  of  Penzance  wrote  to  the  Board  to  give 
them  some  idea  of  the  people  among  whom  he  had 
to  work.  "  The  insolence,"  he  said,  "  of  some  of  the 
smuglers  [sic]  and  wreckers  in  this  neighbourhood 
is  run  to  such  a  heighth,  that  tho  our  officers  have 
from  time  to  time  secured  severall  Hogsheads,  it 
has  been  by  force  taken  from  them  [again], '  and  the 
officers  forced  to  save  their  lives.'  "  Writing  again 
on  the  14th  December,  the  same  correspondent 
added  that  "the  smugglers  never  behaved  with 
more  insolence  than  at  present,  or  was  it  ever 
known  to  be  carried  on  with  more  audaciousness," 
mentioning  also  that  the  previous  night  the  snow  ^ 
Squif^el  of  North  Yarmouth  had  driven  ashore 
loaded  v^th  a  cargo  of  brandy.     The  country-folk 

1  A  suow  was  a  vessel  with  three  masts  resembling  the  main  and 
foremast  of  a  ship  with  a  third  and  small  mast  just  abaft  the  mainmast, 

66 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

had  immediately  boarded  her,  stripped  the  master 
of  everything  valuable,  and  then  carried  off  all  the 
brandy  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and,  in  their 
haste,  had  set  fire  to  the  rest  of  the  cargo,  so  that 
at  the  time  of  writing  the  whole  ship  was  in  flames. 
He  mentioned  also  a  couple  of  months  later  the 
difficulty  he  had  to  secure  arrests  of  smugglers, 
for  even  when  he  had  obtained  warrants  for  the 
apprehension  of  eight  most  notorious  men,  the 
constables  excused  themselves  from  doing  their 
duty  in  serving  the  warrants,  and  pretended  that 
the  eight  men  had  absconded. 

And  anyone  who  cares  to  examine  the  Treasury 
Books  and  Papers  for  this  period  will  find  similar 
cases.  In  July  of  1743  some  smugglers  had  seized 
the  Custom  House  boat  at  Dover  and  coolly  em- 
ployed her  for  their  own  purposes  in  running  tea. 
The  Custom  officers  deemed  matters  to  be  in  such 
a  state  that  they  begged  that  a  man-of-war  might 
be  stationed  on  that  coast  to  prevent  smuggling. 
Similarly  in  January  of  1743-44,  during  a  skirmish 
near  Arundel  between  the  preventive  men  assisted 
by  some  dragoons  against  a  band  of  smugglers,  the 
latter  had  wounded  three  of  the  soldiers  and  carried 
off  an  officer  and  two  other  dragoons  on  board  the 
smugglers'  cutter.     This  was  no  unique  occurrence, 

carrying  a  sail  nearly  similar  to  a  ship's  mizzen.  The  foot  of  this 
mast  was  fixed  in  a  block  of  wood  or  step  but  on  deck.  The  head  was 
attached  to  the  afterpart  of  the  maintop.  The  sail  was  called  a  trysail, 
hence  the  mast  was  called  a  trysail-mast.  (Moore's  Midshipman's 
Vocabulary,  1805.) 

67 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

for  sometimes  the  contraband  runners,  when  infuri- 
ated, captured  tlie  would-be  captors,  hurried  them 
out  to  sea,  and  then,  liavin^  bound  the  unfortunate 
victims  with  a  bit  of  spare  rope  and  having  tied  a 
piece  of  ballast  to  their  live  bodies,  they  would  be 
hurled  overboard  into  the  sea,  and  the  soldier  or 
preventive  man  would  never  be  seen  or  heard  of 
again  unless  his  lifeless  body  were  cast  upon  the 
beach.  At  Folkestone,  about  this  time,  three  men 
were  carried  off  by  the  smugglers  in  trying  to 
effect  an  arrest,  and  the  supervisor  at  Colchester 
had  been  also  carried  off,  but  afterwards  he  had 
been  released  on  promising  not  to  mention  the 
smugglers'  names.  It  was  bad  enough,  tlierefore, 
for  the  Revenue  men  when  they  had  the  assistance 
of  the  dragoons,  but  it  was  infinitely  worse  when 
they  had  to  contend  alone.  There  is  an  almost 
pathetic  petition  from  the  Folkestone  riding- 
officers  sent  on  New  Year's  Day  1744-45,  begging 
for  military  assistance  against  the  smugglers,  as 
although  there  were  soldiers  stationed  at  Dover 
yet  they  were  unobtainable,  since  they  refused  to 
march  more  than  five  miles. 

And  it  was  just  as  bad,  if  not  worse,  about 
this  time  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  for  the  latter's  in- 
habitants consisted  almost  exclusively  of  smug- 
glers and  their  families,  some  of  whom  had  long 
since  been  outlawed  from  England  and  Ireland. 
So     rich     and     prosperous,     indeed,     had     these 

Manxmen  become  by  means  of  smuggling  that  they 

68 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

were  recognised  with  a  degree  of  importance  which 
was  almost  ludicrous.  The  two  deemsters  (or 
deputy-governors)  of  the  island  even  countenanced 
and  protected  the  men,  who  would  often  assemble 
together  to  scheme  and  drink  to  the  damnation 
of  His  Britannic  Majesty.  Unhindered  in  their 
nefarious  work,  able  to  obtain  all  the  cargo  they 
required  from  France  and  the  Channel  Isles  ;  able, 
too,  to  run  their  contraband  into  the  west  of 
England,  they  waxed  exceedingly  independent  and 
wealthy.  At  Douglas  they  had  built  themselves 
a  good  quay  for  the  shelter  of  their  ships  and 
for  convenience  in  landing  their  cargoes,  the  only 
drawback  being  that  the  harbour  dried  out  at 
low  water. 

It  happened  that  on  the  26th  of  June 
1750,  that  Captain  Dow,  commanding  H.M. 
cruiser  Sincerity^  was,  according  to  the  orders 
received  from  the  Board  of  Customs,  on  duty  in 
Douglas  Roads.  A  notorious  Irish  smuggling 
wherry  came  in  from  Ireland  and  ran  under  the 
Sincerity  s  stern,  while  the  smugglers  "  with 
opprobrious,  treasonable,  and  abusive  language 
abused  His  Majesty  King  George  and  all  that 
belonged  to  or  served  under  him."  This,  of 
course,  was  too  much  for  any  naval  officer  to 
endure,  and  Captain  Dow  immediately  caused  the 
ship  to  come  alongside,  and,  after  being  rummaged, 

1  It  was  the  frequent  custom  at  this  time  to  speak  of  sloops  as 
cruisers. 

69 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

she  was  found  to  have  concealed  in  a  jar  of 
butter- milk  twenty-five  English  guineas  tied  up 
in  a  bag.  There  were  also  papers  on  board  which 
proved  that  this  money  was  to  be  expended  in 
the  purchase  of  brandies  and  tea,  &c.,  and  that, 
having  obtained  these  articles,  she  was  then  to 
return  to  Ireland.  The  English  captain  therefore 
promptly  seized  both  money  and  papers. 

On  the  same  day  that  this  incident  occurred 
a  Dutch  dogger^  also  came  into  Douglas  Roads 
loaded  with  prohibited  goods  from  Holland.  As 
soon  as  he  had  noticed  her  come  to  anchor  Dow 
sent  his  boat  to  board  her  with  his  mate  and 
six  men,  and  to  examine  and  see  if  she  had  the 
prohibited  goods  on  board  which  were  suspected. 
If  she  had,  then  she  was  to  be  seized.  At  the 
same  time  Dow  had  requested  Mr.  Sidebotham, 
his  Majesty's  officer  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  to  cast 
off  the  Sincerity  s  headfast  and  sternfasts  from 
the  shore.  But  thereupon  a  riotous  and  angry 
mob,  fearing  that  the  cruiser  should  be  able  to 
get  under  weigh  and  seize  the  Dutch  dogger, 
refused  to  allow  Sidebotham  to  let  go  the  ropes. 
Armed  with  bludgeons,  muskets,  swords,  and 
stones  they  rushed  down  on  to  the  quay,  and 
did  all  they  could  to  force  the  cruiser  on  shore 
by  aiming  showers  of  stones  at  the  cruiser's  men 

^  A  dog^ger  was  a  two-masted  Dutch  fishing-vessel  usually  employed 
in  the  North  Sea  off  the  Dogger  Bank.  She  had  two  masts,  and  was 
very  similar  to  a  ketch  in  rig,  but  somewhat  beamy  and  bluff-bowed. 

70 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

and  restraining  Sidebotham  in  his  endeavour  to 
help  the  Sincerity.  They  even  carried  the  latter 
away  by  force,  and  beat  and  bruised  him  in  the 
most  brutal  manner. 

Captain  Dow,  realising  that  the  intention  of 
the  mob  was  to  get  the  Sincerity  stranded,  deter- 
mined to  cut  his  cable  and  exhorted  them  in  his 
Majesty's  name  to  disperse,  to  which  they  paid 
not  the  slightest  attention  except  to  send  more 
showers  of  stones  on  to  the  cruiser's  decks.  Seeing 
from  afar  what  was  happening,  the  mate  and  six 
men  who  had  been  sent  to  board  the  dogger 
now  returned  to  the  Sincerity.  Whereupon 
the  dogger,  perceiving  her  chance,  promptly  got 
under  way.  As  the  crowd  on  shore  still  con- 
tinued to  pelt  his  ship  with  stones  and  had  already 
wounded  two  of  his  crew,  the  cruiser's  commander 
fired  amongst  them.  For  a  time,  at  least,  this 
dispersed  them,  and  so  Dow  was  able  to  get  his 
vessel  clear.  He  immediately  proceeded  to  follow 
the  Dutch  dogger,  and  chased  her  until  she  had, 
perforce,  to  run  herself  on  to  the  sands  at  Ramsey 
to  the  north  of  the  island.  Determined  not  to 
be  beaten,  Dow  now  sent  his  mate  and  ten  men 
on  board  her,  seized  her,  and  marked  her  in 
several  places  with  the  sign  of  a  broad  arrow  to 
denote  her  capture. 

But  when  the  mate  came  to  open  the  hatches 

several  of  the  islanders  who  had  been  secreted  on 

board,  with  the  assistance  of  two  boat-loads  of 

71 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

armed  men  who  had  rowed  off  from  the  shore, 
seized  the  mate  and  his  men,  and  threatened  that 
if  tliey  resisted  they  would  kill  them.  Being 
completely  overpowered,  the  eleven  naval  men 
were  compelled  to  yield  and  be  carried  ashore, 
where  they  were  shut   up   in  cellars  and  finally 


.:Si^ 


"  Dow  sent  his  mate  anditen  men  on  board  her." 

carried  down  to  Castletown  Castle.  Meanwhile, 
the  smugglers  set  to  work  on  the  dogger's  cargo 
and  landed  it  safely.  A  few  days  later  six  of 
the  eleven  were  released,  but  the  other  five  were 
detained  until  Captain  Dow  should  refund  the 
twenty-five  guineas  he  had  seized  from  the  Irish 
wherry.     In  order  to  give  him  a  fright  they  also 

sent    word    that    the   five   men    should   be   tried 

72 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

before  one  of  their  Courts  of  Judicature  on  the 
following  Thursday,  were  he  to  fail  to  send  the 
money.  As  the  captain  declined  to  accede  to 
their  demands,  the  five  prisoners  were  on  July  5 
brought  up  and  remanded  till  a  month  later. 
Finding  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  their  release 
the  commander  of  the  Sincerity  weighed  anchor 
and  ran  back  to  Ramsey  to  take  in  the  six  re- 
leased men,  and  then,  sailing  away  to  Whitehaven, 
arrived  at  that  place  on  the  10th  of  July. 

We  need  not  say  more.  The  story  is  sufficient 
to  indicate  the  utter  state  of  lawlessness  which 
prevailed  there.  Peopled  by  outlaws  and  by  the 
scum  of  France,  Holland,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and 
England,  they  were  a  pretty  tough  proposition. 
Their  violence  was  rivalled  only  by  their  im- 
pudence ;  and  fleets  of  wherries  ^  would  sail  in 
company  into  Ireland  and  Scotland  loaded  with 
cargoes  of  cheap  brandy,  which  had  been  brought 
from  Holland  for  that  purpose.  As  a  means  of 
checking  these  Manx  smugglers  it  was  suggested 
that  the  English  Government  should  employ  a 
number  of  tenders  in  this  neighbourhood,  since 
they  drew  less  water  than  the  sloops-of-war  and 
so  would  be  more  useful  for  a  locality  that  was 
not  well  supplied  with  deep  harbours.     Moreover, 

^  These,  of  course,  were  not  the  light  rowing-boats  of  the  kind  that 
were  in  use  on  the  Thames  and  elsewhere.  The  term  wherry  was 
applied  to  various  decked  fishing- vessels  belonging  to  England,  Ireland, 
and  the  Isle  of  Man. 

73 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

these  tenders  would  be  well  able  to  take  the 
ground  in  the  harbours  which  dried  out.  Such 
craft  as  the  latter  were  of  about  160  tons,  mounted 
twelve  to  fourteen  carriage  guns,  and  were  manned 
by  a  captain,  second  officer,  two  mates,  two 
quartermasters,  a  gunner,  a  boatswain,  carpenter, 
surgeon,  and  forty  seamen. 

From  the  south-east  corner  of  England  came 
reports  not  much  better.  Just  before  the  close 
of  the  year  1743  the  Surveyor  at  Margate  and 
his  men  were  out  on  duty  along  the  coast  one 
night  when  five  of  them  came  upon  a  gang  of 
about  twenty  -  five  smugglers.  An  encounter 
quickly  ensued,  and  as  the  latter  were  well  armed 
they  were,  by  their  superior  numbers,  able  to 
give  the  officers  a  severe  beating,  especially  in 
the  case  of  one  unfortunate  "  whose  head  is  in 
such  a  miserable  condition  that  the  Surveyor 
thought  proper  to  put  him  under  the  care  of  a 
surgeon."  Both  this  Surveyor  and  the  one  at 
Ramsgate  asserted  that  the  smugglers  were  ac- 
customed to  travel  in  such  powerful  gangs,  and  at 
the  same  time  were  so  well  armed,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  cope  with  them,  there  being  seldom 
less  than  thirty  in  a  gang  "  who  bid  defiance  to 
all  the  officers  when  they  met  them." 

On  the  7th  April  1746,  the  Collector  and 
Controller  of  the  Customs  at  Sandwich  wrote 
to  the  Board : 

"  We    further    beg    leave    to    acquaint    your 

74 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

Honours  that  yesterday  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  a  large  gang  of  near  100  smuglers 
[sic']  with  several  led  horses  went  thro'  this 
town  into  the  island  of  Thanet,  wliere  we  hear 
they  landed  their  goods,  notwithstanding  that  we 
took  all  possible  care  to  prevent  them. 

"  P.S. — This  moment  we  have  advice  that  there 
is  a  gang  of  200  smugglers  more  at  St.  Peter's  in 
the  Isle  of  Thanet." 

Seven  months  later  in  that  year,  at  nine  o'clock 
one  November  morning,  a  gang  of  150  smugglers 
managed  to  land  some  valuable  cargo  from  a 
couple  of  cutters  on  to  the  Sandwich  flats. 
Several  Revenue  officers  were  despatched  into 
the  country  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  with  some 
of  the  stragglers.  The  officers  came  into  collision 
with  a  party  of  these  men  and  promptly  seized 
two  horse-loads  of  goods  consisting  of  five  bags 
of  tea  and  eight  half-ankers  of  wine.  But  they 
were  only  allowed  to  retain  this  seizure  for  half-an- 
hour,  inasmuch  as  the  smugglers  presently  over- 
powered the  Revenue  men  and  wrested  back  their 
booty.  The  preventive  men  were  also  consider- 
ably knocked  about,  and  one  of  them  had  his 
thumb  badly  dislocated.  The  officers  declared 
that  they  knew  none  of  the  people,  the  latter 
being  well  supplied  not  with  firearms  but  with 
great  clubs.  A  fortnight  later,  just  a  few  miles 
farther  along  the  coast,  a  gang  of  150  smugglers 
succeeded   in   landing    their  goods   at   Reculvers 

75 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

near  Birchington ;  and  ten  days  later  still  another 
gang  of  the  same  size  was  able  to  land  their 
goods  near  Kingsgate,  between  the  North  Fore- 
land and  INlargate.  But  it  cannot  be  supposed 
that  the  Revenue  officers  were  not  aware  of  the 
approach  of  these  incidents.  Tlie  fact  was  that 
they  were  a  little  lacking  in  courage  to  face  these 
problems  on  every  occasion.  Indeed,  they  were 
candid  enough  to  admit  that  they  dared  not 
venture  near  these  ruffians  "  without  the  utmost 
hazard  of  their  lives."  But  the  riding-officers 
were  not  solely  to  blame,  for  where  were  the 
Custom  House  sloops  ?  How  was  it  they  were 
always  absent  at  these  critical  times  ?  Indeed, 
the  Collector  and  Controller  informed  the  Com- 
missioners that  not  one  of  these  sloops  had  been 
seen  cruising  between  Sandwich  and  Reculvers 
for  some  months  past. 

This  complaint  about  the  cruisers  was  made 
in  March  1747,  and  in  that  same  month  another 
gang,  two  hundred  strong,  appeared  on  the  coast, 
but  this  time,  after  a  smart  encounter,  the  officers 
secured  and  placed  in  the  King's  warehouse  a  ton 
of  tea  as  well  as  other  goods,  and  three  horses. 
A  day  or  two  later  a  gang  of  smugglers  threatened 
to  rescue  these  goods  back  again.  The  property 
formed  a  miscellaneous  collection  and  consisted 
of  fifty  pieces  of  cambric,  three  bags  of  coffee,  some 
Flemish  linen,  tea,  clothes,  pistols,  a  blunderbuss, 
and  two  musquetoons.     To  prevent  the  smugglers 

76 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

carrying  out  their  intention,  however,  a  strong 
guard  was  formed  by  an  amalgamation  of  all  the 
officers  from  Sandwich,  Ramsgate,  and  Broadstairs, 
who  forthwith  proceeded  to  Margate.  In  addition 
to  these,  it  was  arranged  that  Commodore  Mitchell 
should  send  ashore  from  the  Downs  as  many  men 
as  he  could  spare.  This  united  front  was  therefore 
successful,  and  for  once  the  smugglers  were  over- 
matched. And  but  for  a  piece  of  bad  luck,  or 
sheer  carelessness,  a  couple  of  years  later  a  smart 
capture  might  well  have  been  brought  about.  It 
was  one  day  in  August  when  the  officers  had 
received  information  that  a  gang  of  twenty  men 
and  horses  had  appeared  near  Reculvers  to  receive 
goods  from  a  cutter  that  was  seen  to  be  hovering 
near  the  coast.  The  smugglers  on  shore  were  cute 
enough  to  locate  the  officers,  and  by  some  means 
evidently  signalled  to  the  cutter,  for  the  latter 
now  put  to  sea  again  and  the  gang  cleared  off. 
Although  for  some  time  after  this  incident  both 
officers  and  dragoons  patrolled  the  coast  in  the 
neighbourhood  no  one  was  ever  fortunate  enough 
to  gather  information  either  as  to  the  cutter  or 
the  people  who  had  vanished  into  the  country  with 
such  rapidity. 

And  yet  in  spite  of  the  very  numerous  sym- 
pathisers which  these  illicit  importers  possessed, 
yet  of  course  there  were  some  individuals  who  were 
as  much  against  them  as  any  officer  of  the  Customs. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Plymouth  legitimate  trade 

77 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

had  suffered  a  great  deal  owing  to  these  practices. 
Tlie  mayor,  aldermen,  and  merchants  of  Saltash 
were  at  last  compelled  to  send  a  memorial  to  the 
Lords  of  the  Treasury  complaining  that  in  the 
rivers  adjacent  to  that  place  there  were  several 
creeks  and  inlets  which  were  being  made  of  con- 
siderable use  by  the  smugglers  for  landing  their 
goods.  Especially  was  this  the  case  up  the  river 
Tamar,  and  all  this  had  been  and  was  still  "  to  the 
great  prejudice  of  the  fair  traders  and  merchants." 
They  pointed  out  that  a  great  deal  of  it  consisted 
of  clandestine  running  from  ships  in  the  Sound, 
Hamoaze,  and  other  anchorages  round  about  there. 
Large  quantities  of  French  linings,  wines,  and 
brandies  were  being  run  ashore  with  impunity  and 
speedily  sold  in  the  adjacent  towns  or  conveyed 
some  distance  into  Devonshire.  The  mayor  there- 
fore begged  the  Treasury  for  three  additional 
Custom  officers  consisting  of  an  inspector  of  roads 
and  two  tide-waiters  to  be  established  at  Saltash, 
but  the  Treasury  could  not  see  their  way  to  grant 
such  a  request. 

But  in  other  parts  of  the  country  the  roads  were 
kept  carefully  watched  to  prevent  goods  being 
brought  inland.  The  coaches  which  ran  from 
Dover  to  London  with  passengers  who  had  come 
across  from  the  Continent  were  frequently  stopped 
on  the  highway  by  the  riding-officers  and  the 
passengers  searched.  Harsh  as  this  mode  of  pro- 
cedure may  seem  to  us  to-day,  yet  it  was  rendered 

78 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

necessary  by  the  fact  that  a  good  many  professional 
carriers  of  contraband  goods  were  wont  to  travel 
backwards  and  forwards  between  England  and 
abroad.  Some  years  later,  for  example,  when  the 
Dover  coach  was  stopped  at  "The  Half- Way 
House,"  a  foreigner,  who  was  travelling  by  this 
conveyance  and  had  been  able  to  evade  the  Cus- 
toms' search  at  Dover,  was  found  to  be  carrying 
two  gold  snuff-boxes  set  with  diamonds,  four 
lockets  also  set  with  diamonds,  eighteen  opals, 
three  sapphires,  eight  amethysts,  six  emeralds,  two 
topazes,  and  one  thousand  two  hundred  torquoises 
— all  of  which  were  liable  to  duty. 

And  thus  the  illegal  practices  continued  all 
round  the  coast.  From  Devonshire  it  was  re- 
ported that  smuggling  was  on  the  increase — this 
was  in  the  autumn  of  1759 — and  that  large  gangs 
armed  with  loaded  clubs  openly  made  runs  of 
goods  on  the  shore,  the  favourite  locale  being 
Torbay,  though  previously  the  neighbourhood  of 
Lyme  had  been  the  usual  aim  of  these  men  who 
had  sailed  as  a  rule  from  Guernsey.  All  that 
the  Collector  could  suggest  was  that  an  "  impress 
smack"  should  be  sent  to  that  district,  as  he 
promised  that  the  notorious  offenders  would  make 
excellent  seamen. 

There  was  an  interesting  incident  also  off"  the 

north-east  coast  of  England,  where  matters  were 

still  about  as   bad   as   ever.     We   referred   some 

pages  back  to  the  capture  of  a  Dutch  dogger  ofi^ 

79 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

tlie  Isle  of  Man ;  we  sliall  now  see  anotlier  of 
these  craft  seized  in  the  North  Sea.  Captain 
Bowen  of  the  sloop  Prince  of  Wales,  hearing  that 
the  dogger  Young  JDaniel  was  running  brandy 
on  the  coast  near  to  Newcastle,  put  to  sea  in 
search  of  her.  He  came  up  with  a  number  of 
those  cobbles — open  boats — which  are  peculiar  to 
tlie  nortli-east  coastline,  though  at  one  time  they 
were  used  as  far  south  as  Great  Yarmouth.  The 
cobbles  which  he  was  able  to  intercept  had  just 
been  employed  in  transferring  the  contraband  from 
tlie  dogger  to  the  shore.  Bowen  captured  one 
of  tliese  small  craft  with  a  dozen  casks  aboard. 
Another  was  forced  ashore  and  secured  by  the 
land  officers.  INIeanwhile,  the  Dutchman  stood 
out  to  sea  so  that  he  might  be  able  to  draw 
off  the  spirits  from  large  casks  into  smaller  ones, 
which  were  the  better  fitted  for  running  ashore. 
It  was  found  afterwards  that  he  had  large  num- 
bers of  these  lesser  casks,  and  during  that  evening 
she  put  about  and  crept  stealthily  in  towards 
the  shore  again  until  she  approached  within  about 
a  mile  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tees.  Her  intention 
was  to  run  the  rest  of  her  cargo  under  cover  of 
darkness,  and  her  skipper  had  arranged  for  large 
numbers  of  men  to  be  on  that  coast  ready  to 
receive  and  carry  off  these  casks.  But  Bowen 
was  determined  to  head  her  off  this  project.  An 
exciting  chase  followed,  during  which — to  quote 

an  official  report  of  the  time — the  dogger  did  her 

80 


THE   SMUGGLERS'   METHODS 

best  "  to  eat  the  sloop  out  of  the  wind,"  that  is 
to  say  sailed  as  close  to  the  wind  as  she  could 
travel  in  the  hope  of  causing  her  adversary  to 
drop  to  leeward.  For  seven  hours  this  chase 
continued,  but  after  that  duration  the  Prince  of 
Wales  captured  the  Voting  Daniel  eight  leagues 
from  the  shore.  This  is  not  a  little  interesting, 
for  inasmuch  as  the  chase  began  when  the  dogger 
was  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the 
vessels  must  have  travelled  about  23  statutory 
miles  in  the  time,  which  works  out  at  less  than 
3 J  miles  an  hour.  Not  very  fast,  you  may  sug- 
gest, for  a  Revenue  cutter  or  for  the  Dutchman 
either.  But  we  have  no  details  as  to  the  weather, 
which  is  usually  bad  off  that  part  of  the  coast 
in  February  (the  month  when  this  incident  oc- 
curred), and  we  must  remember  that  the  doggers 
were  too  bluff  of  build  to  possess  speed,  and  the 
time  had  not  yet  arrived  when  those  much  faster 
Revenue  cutters  with  finer  lines  and  less  ample 
beam  were  to  come  into  use. 


81  F 


CHAPTER   V 

THE    HAWKHURST   GANG 

We  come  now  to  consider  the  desperate  character 
of  a  band  of  men  who  rendered  themselves  for 
all  time  notorious  in  the  domestic  history  of  our 
country  by  acts  of  unbridled  violence  and  con- 
summate cruelty. 

But  before  we  proceed  to  relate  as  fully  as 
our  limited  space  will  allow  the  details  of  these 
incidents,  it  is  necessary  to  remind  ourselves  once 
again  of  the  great,  solid  mass  of  sympathy,  both 
active  and  passive,  that  was  always  at  the  back 
of  the  smugglers.  Without  this  such  daring  runs 
by  night  could  never  have  occurred :  doubtful  of 
the  assistance  which  could  be  whole-heartedly 
given  by  the  people  on  shore,  the  seafaring  men 
would  never  have  dared  to  take  such  enormous 
risks  of  life  and  goods.  Not  merely  did  the 
villagers  come  down  to  the  shore  to  help  to  bring 
the  goods  inland,  not  only  did  they  lend  their 
horses  and  carts,  but  they  would  tacitly  suffer  the 
smugglers  to  hide  casks  of  spirits  in  wells,  hay- 
stacks, cellars,  and  other  places.  In  Cornwall, 
for  instance,  fifty-five  tubs  of  spirits  were  found 

concealed   in    a   well,  over   the   top   of  which   a 

82 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

hay-stack  had  been  built.  This  was  near  Falmouth, 
one  of  the  most  notorious  of  the  smuggling  locali- 
ties. And  there  is  actual  record  of  at  least  one 
instance  where  the  natives  charged  a  rent  of  a 
shilling  a  tub  for  stowing  away  the  smuggled 
goods.  In  another  county  a  cavern  had  most 
ingeniously  been  hollowed  out  under  a  pond  big 
enough  to  hold  a  hundred  casks,  the  entrance 
being  covered  over  with  planks  carefully  strewed 
with  mould.  So  clever  and  original  was  this  idea 
that  it  was  never  discovered  for  many  years. 

But  the  most  notorious,  the  most  formidable, 
and  certainly  the  most  abominably  cruel  gang  of 
smugglers  which  ever  achieved  notice  was  the 
Hawkhurst  contingent.  The  "  Hawkhurst  Gang," 
as  they  were  known,  were  a  terror  to  whatever 
law-abiding  citizens  existed  in  the  counties  of 
Kent  and  Sussex.  They  feared  neither  Custom 
officers  nor  soldiery,  they  respected  neither  God 
nor  man,  and  in  the  course  of  attaining  their 
aims  they  stopped  at  no  atrocity  nor  brooked 
any  interference  from  anyone.  By  the  year  1747 
smugglers  had  become  so  daring  and  committed 
such  terrible  crimes  that  the  only  course  left 
open  for  decent  people  was  to  band  together  in 
mutual  protection.  The  inhabitants  of  one  locality 
joined  together  under  the  title  of  the  "  Goudhurst 
Band  of  Militia,"  their  leader  being  a  man  named 
Sturt,  a  native  of  Goudhurst,  who  had  recently 

obtained  his  discharge  from  the  Army.     But  this 

83 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

union  became  known  to  the  smugglers,  who  way- 
laid one  of  the  militia,  and  by  means  of  torture 
the  whole  of  the  defenders'  plans  were  revealed. 
After  a  while  he  was  released  and  sent  back  to 
inform  the  militia  that  the  smugglers  on  a  certain 
day  would  attack  the  town,  murder  all  its  inhabi- 
tants, and  then  burn  the  place  to  the  ground. 

The  day  arrived  and  both  forces  were  prepared. 
Sturt  had  gathered  his  band,  collected  fire-arms, 
cast  balls,  made  cartridges,  and  arranged  entrench- 
ments, when,  headed  by  one  Thomas  Kingsmill, 
the  Hawkhurst  gang  appeared  in  order  to  make 
the  attack.  But  after  a  smart  engagement  in 
which  three  were  killed  and  many  wounded,  the 
smugglers  were  driven  off,  whilst  others  were  cap- 
tured and  subsequently  executed. 

Kingsmill  escaped  for  a  time,  and  became  the 
leader  of  the  famous  attack  on  the  Poole  Custom 
House  in  October  1747.  Another  of  the  gang 
was  named  Perin  and  belonged  to  Chichester. 
Perin  was  really  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  after 
being  afflicted  with  a  stroke  of  the  palsy,  he 
became  attached  to  the  smugglers,  and  used  to  sail 
with  them  to  France  to  purchase  goods  that  were 
to  be  smuggled,  such  as  brandy,  tea,  and  rum. 
Now  in  September  of  1747  Perin  went  across  the 
Channel  in  a  cutter  called  The  Three  Brothers, 
loaded  up  with  the  above  commodities,  and  was 
approaching  the  English  coast  when  he  was  met 
with   a  rebuff.     For    Captain   William   Johnson, 

84. 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

who  held  a  deputation  from  the  Customs  to  seize 
prohibited  goods,  got  to  know  of  Perin's  exploit, 
and  on  the  22nd  of  this  month,  whilst  cruising 
in  the  Poole  Revenue  cutter,  sighted  llie  Three 
Urothers  to  the  eastward  of  Poole.  Whereupon 
the  smuggler  began  to  flee,  and,  running  before  the 
wind,  fled  to  the  N.N.W.  From  five  in  the  after- 
noon till  eleven  at  night  the  Revenue  cutter,  with 
every  stitch  of  canvas  set,  chased  her,  and  after 
firing  several  shots  caused  her  to  heave-to.  Johnson 
then  boarded  her,  and  found  that  the  tea  was  in 
canvas  and  oil-skin  bags,  but  Perin  and  the  crew 
of  six  had  escaped  in  The  Three  Brothers  boat. 
However,  Johnson  captured  the  cutter  with  her 
cargo  and  took  the  same  into  Poole.  The  two 
tons  of  tea,  thirty-nine  casks  of  brandy  and  rum, 
together  with  a  small  bag  of  coffee,  were  conveyed 
ashore  and  locked  up  safely  in  the  Poole  Custom 
House.  Such  was  the  introduction  to  the  drama 
that  should  follow. 

Enraged  at  their  bad  luck,  the  smugglers  took 
counsel  together.  They  assembled  in  Charlton 
Forest,  and  Perin  suggested  that  they  should  go  in 
a  body  and,  well-armed,  break  open  the  Poole 
Custom  House.  So  the  next  day  they  met  at 
Rowland's  Castle  with  swords  and  firearms,  and 
were  presently  joined  by  Kingsmill  and  the  Hawk- 
hurst  gang.  Till  night  had  fallen  they  secreted 
themselves   in   a   wood,  and    eventually    reached 

Poole  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night.     Two  of  their 

85 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

members   were    sent   ahead    to   reconnoitre,    and 
reported  that   a  sloop-of-war  lay  opposite  to   tlie 
quay,  so  that  her  guns  could  be  pointed  against 
the  doors  of  the  Custom  House ;  but  afterwards  it 
was  found  that,  owing  to  the  ebb-tide,  the  guns  of 
the  sloop  could  not  be  made  to  bear  on  that  spot. 
The  band,  numbering  about  thirty,  therefore  rode 
down  to  spot,  and  while  Perin  and  one  other  man 
looked  after  their  horses,  the  rest  proceeded  to  the 
Custom  House,  forced  open  the  door  with  hatchets 
and  other  implements,  rescued  the  tea,  fastening 
packages  of  the  latter  on  to  their  horses,  with  the 
exception  only  of  5  lbs.     The  next  morning  they 
passed  through  Fordingbridge  in  Hampshire,  where 
hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  stood  and  watched  the 
cavalcade.      Now   among   the   latter   was   a   man 
named  Daniel  Chater,  a  shoemaker  by  trade.     He 
was   known  to  Diamond,  one  of  the  gang   then 
passing,  for  they  had  both  worked  together  once 
at     harvest     time.        Recognising     each    other. 
Diamond   extended    his   arm,   shook   hands,    and 
threw  him  a  bag  of  tea,  for  the  booty  had  been 
divided  up  so  that  each  man  carried  five  bags  of 
27  lbs. 

After  the  Poole  officers  discovered  what  had 
happened  to  their  Custom  House,  there  was  not 
unnaturally  a  tremendous  fuss,  and  eventually  the 
King's  proclamation  promised  a  reward  for  the 
apprehension  of  the  men  concerned  in  the  deed. 
Nothing  happened  for  months  after,  but   at   last 

86 


^ 


^ 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

Diamond  was  arrested  on  suspicion  and  lodged  in 
Chichester  Gaol.  We  can  well  imagine  the 
amount  of  village  gossip  to  which  this  would 
give  rise.  Chater  was  heard  to  remark  that  he 
knew  Diamond  and  saw  him  go  by  with  the 
gang  the  very  day  after  the  Custom  House  had 
been  broken  open.  When  the  Collector  of 
Customs  at  Southampton  learned  this,  he  got  into 
communication  with  the  man,  and  before  long 
Cliater  and  Mr.  William  Galley  were  sent  with  a 
letter  to  Major  Battin,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
Sussex.  Galley  was  also  a  Custom  House  officer 
stationed  at  Southampton.  The  object  of  this 
mission  was  that  C  hater's  evidence  should  be  taken 
down,  so  that  he  might  prove  the  identity  of 
Diamond. 

On  Sunday  February  14,  then,  behold  these 
two  men  setting  out  for  Chichester.  On  the  way 
they  stopped  at  the  White  Hart  Inn,  Rowland's 
Castle,  for  refreshment.  But  the  landlady  suspect- 
ing that  they  were  going  to  hurt  the  smugglers, 
with  the  intuition  of  a  woman  and  the  sympathy 
of  a  mother  decided  to  send  for  two  men  named 
Jackson  and  Carter.  For  this  Mrs.  Paine,  a 
widow,  had  two  sons  herself,  who  though  nomi- 
nally blacksmiths  were  in  fact  smugglers.  Jackson 
and  Carter  came  in,  to  whom  the  widow  explained 
her  suspicions,  and  these  two  men  were  presently 
followed  by  others  of  the  gang.     Before  very  long 

they  had  got  into  conversation  with  Galley  and 

87 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

C hater,  and  plied  them  with  drink,  so  that  they 
completely  gave  away  the  nature  of  their  mission, 
and  after  being  fuddled  and  insulted  were  put  to 
bed  intoxicated.  After  a  while,  they  were  aroused 
by  Jackson  brutally  digging  his  spurs  on  their  fore- 
heads and  then  thrashing  them  with  a  horse-whip. 
They  were  then  taken  out  of  the  inn,  both  put 
on  to  the  same  horse,  with  their  legs  tied  together 
below  the  horse's  belly.  They  were  next  whipped 
as  they  went  along,  over  the  face,  eyes,  and  shoulder, 
till  the  poor  victims  were  unable  to  bear  it  any 
longer,  and  at  last  fell  together,  with  their  hands 
tied  underneath  the  horse,  heads  downwards.  In 
this  position  the  horse  struck  the  head  of  one 
or  the  other  with  his  feet  at  every  step.  After- 
wards the  blackguardly  tormentors  sat  the  two 
men  upright  again,  whipped  them,  and  once 
more  the  men  fell  down,  with  heels  in  air. 
They  were  utterly  weak,  and  suffering  from  their 
blows. 

We  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  details,  some  of 
which  are  too  outrageous  to  repeat.  After  a  while 
they  thought  Galley  was  dead,  and  laid  him  across 
another  horse,  with  a  smuggler  each  side  to  prevent 
him  falling.  They  then  stopped  at  the  Red  Lion, 
at  Rake,  knocked  up  the  landlord,  drank  pretty 
freely,  and  then  taking  a  candle  and  spade  dug 
a  hole  in  a  sand-pit  where  they  buried  him.  But 
at  a  later  date,  when  the  body  was  exhumed,  it 

was  seen  that  the  poor  man  had  covered  his  eyes 

88 


(7/(1/,:/-.  (/hiinrjuiy.  7)n;j Jlru^c  oJ  [V(Llfi//^i> 
CrH'yJurkuuj  hi/ii  v  Tajuirr.  rufh/jLj  hnn  ^/r^.' i' 

<h'i'C]'al  Of  J  r/f/i  I  <  >//(f{(/('/r/\  >  o/diidi/io  I'y  • 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

with  his  hands,  so  there  can  be  Httle  doubt  but 
that  Galley  was  buried  alive. 

As  for  Chater,  they  delayed  his  death. 
Throughout  Monday  they  remained  drinking  at 
the  Red  Lion,  discussing  what  to  do  with  him, 
Chater  being  meanwhile  kept  secured  by  the  leg 
with  an  iron  chain,  three  yards  long,  in  a  turf- 
house.  At  dead  of  night  they  agreed  to  go 
home  separately  so  that  the  neighbours  might  not 
be  suspicious  of  their  absence.  On  Wednesday 
morning  they  again  repaired  to  the  Red  Lion, 
after  having  left  Chater  in  the  charge  of  two  of 
their  number.  Then,  having  discussed  what 
should  be  done  with  Chater,  some  one  suggested 
that  a  gun  should  be  loaded  with  two  or  three 
bullets,  and  after  having  tied  a  long  string  to  the 
trigger,  each  member  of  the  gang  should  take  hold 
of  the  string  together,  and  so  become  equally 
guilty  of  the  poor  man's  death.  But  this  idea  was 
unwelcomed,  as  it  was  thought  it  would  put  Chater 
too  quickly  out  of  his  sufferings.  Meanwhile, 
Chater  was  visited  at  various  times,  to  receive 
kicks  and  severe  blows,  and  to  be  sworn  at  in  the 
vilest  and  most  scurrilous  language. 

One  of  the  gang  now  came  up  to  him,  and  utter- 
ing an  oath,  brandishing  aloft  a  large  clasp-knife,  ex- 
claimed :  "  Down  on  your  knees  and  go  to  prayers, 
for  with  this  knife  I  will  be  your  butcher."  Terri- 
fied at  the  menace,  and  expecting  momentarily  to 

die,  Chater  knelt  down  on  the  turf  and  began  to 

89 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

say  the  Lord's  Prayer.  One  of  the  villains  got 
behind  and  kicked  him,  and  after  Chater  had  asked 
what  they  had  done  to  Galley,  the  man  who  was 
confronting  him  drew  his  knife  across  the  poor 
man's  face,  cut  his  nose  through,  and  almost  cut 
both  his  eyes  out.  And,  a  moment  later,  gashed 
him  terribly  across  the  forehead.  They  then  pro- 
ceeded to  conduct  him  to  a  well.  It  was  now  the 
dead  of  night,  and  the  well  was  about  thirty  feet 
deep,  but  without  water,  being  surrounded  with 
pales  at  the  top  to  prevent  cattle  from  falling  in. 
They  compelled  him  to  get  over,  and  not  through 
these  pales,  and  a  rope  was  placed  round  his  neck, 
tlie  other  end  being  made  fast  to  the  paling. 
They  then  pushed  him  into  the  well,  but  as  the 
rope  was  short  they  then  untied  him,  and  threw 
him  head  foremost  into  the  former,  and,  finally,  to 
stop  his  groanings,  hurled  down  rails  and  gate- 
posts and  large  stones. 

I  have  omitted  the  oaths  and  some  of  the  worst 
features  of  the  incident,  but  the  above  outline  is 
more  than  adequate  to  suggest  the  barbarism  of 
a  lot  of  men  bent  on  lawlessness  and  revenge. 
Drunk  with  their  own  success,  the  gang  now  went 
about  with  even  greater  desperation.  Everybody 
stood  in  terror  of  them ;  Custom  officers  were  so 
frightened  that  they  hardly  dared  to  perform  their 
duties,  and  the  magistrates  themselves  were  equally 
frightened   to  convict  smugglers.      Consequently 

the   contraband  gangs  automatically  increased  to 

90 


(/lalcr  /uuu'uia  t?{  i/u'  ITr//  i/i  /.j/n- //r/,T,  Park. 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

great  numbers.  But,  finally,  a  reward  of  £500  was 
offered  by  the  Commissioners  of  Customs  for  the 
arrest  of  everyone  of  the  culprits,  and  as  a  result 
several  were  arrested,  tried,  convicted,  and  exe- 
cuted. The  murderers  were  tried  at  a  special 
assize  for  smugglers  held  at  Chichester,  before  three 
judges,  and  the  seven  men  were  sentenced  to  death. 
William  Jackson  died  in  prison  a  few  hours  after 
sentence.  He  had  been  very  ill  before,  but  the 
shock  of  being  sentenced  to  death,  and  to  be  hung 
afterwards  in  chains  and  in  ignominy,  rapidly  has- 
tened his  death,  and  relieved  the  executioner  of 
at  least  one  portion  of  his  duty.  He  had  been 
one  of  the  worst  smugglers  in  his  time,  and  was 
even  a  thief  among  thieves,  for  he  would  even 
steal  his  confederates'  goods.  Between  the  sen- 
tence and  the  hour  for  execution  a  man  came 
into  the  prison  to  measure  the  seven  culprits  for 
the  irons  in  which  their  bodies  were  subsequently 
to  be  hung  by  chains.  And  this  distressed  the 
men  more  than  anything  else,  most  of  all  Jackson, 
who  presently  succumbed  as  stated. 

Mills,  senior,  had  gradually  been  drawn  into  the 
smuggling  business,  though  previously  he  had  been 
quite  a  respectable  man.  After  giving  up  actual 
smuggling,  he  still  allowed  his  house  to  be  used  as 
a  store-place  for  the  contraband  goods.  His  son, 
Richard,  also  one  of  the  seven,  had  been  concerned 
in  smuggling  for  years,  and  was  a  daring  fellow. 
John  Cobby,  the  third  of  the  culprits,  was  of  a 

91 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

weaker  temperament,  and  had  been  brought  under 
the  influence  of  the  smugglers.  Benjamin  Tapner 
was  especially  penitent,  and  "  hoped  all  young 
people  would  take  warning  by  his  untimely  fate, 
and  keep  good  company,  for  it  was  bad  company 
had  been  his  ruin."  William  Carter  complained 
that  it  was  Jackson  who  had  drawn  him  away 
from  his  honest  employment  to  go  smuggling,  but 
John  Hammond  was  of  a  more  obdurate  nature, 
and  had  always  hated  the  King's  officers. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  John 
Smyth,  who  visited  them  in  gaol,  all  the  prisoners 
received  the  Holy  Communion  at  ten  o'clock,  the 
morning  after  being  sentenced  to  death.  All  the 
prisoners  except  the  two  Mills  admitted  that  they 
deserved  the  sentence,  but  all  the  surviving  six 
acknowledged  that  they  forgave  everybody.  On 
January  19, 1748-9,  they  were  executed.  The  two 
Mills  were  not  hung  in  chains,  but  having  neither 
friend  nor  relation  to  take  them  away  their  bodies 
were  thrown  into  a  hole  near  the  gallows,  into 
which  also  was  placed  Jackson's  body.  Carter's 
body  was  hung  in  chains  on  the  Portsmouth  Road, 
near  Rake;  that  of  Tapner  on  Rook's  Hill,  near 
Chichester ;  those  of  Cobby  and  Hammond  on  the 
sea  coast  near  Selsey  Bill ;  so  that  from  a  great  dis- 
tance they  could  be  observed  across  the  sea  by  the 
ships  as  they  went  by  east  and  west.  Later  on, 
John,  the  brother  of  Richard  Mills,  and  one  of  the 

gang,  was  also  arrested.     When  the  above  three 

92 


THE   HAWKHURST   GANG 

judges  were  travelling  down  to  Chichester  for  the 
trial  of  the  seven  men,  John  had  intended  way- 
laying their  lordships  on  Hind  Heath,  but  his  com- 
panions had  refused  to  support  him.  But  soon  after 
his  father's  and  brother's  execution  he  met  with 
a  man  named  Richard  Hawkins,  whom  he  accused 
of  having  stolen  two  bags  of  tea.  Hawkins  denied 
it,  and  was  brutally  and  unmercifully  thrashed  to 
death  in  the  Dog  and  Partridge  Inn  at  Slindon 
Common,  his  body  being  afterwards  carried  a  dozen 
miles,  thrown  into  a  pond,  with  stones  attached,  and 
then  sunk.  John  Mills  was  convicted  and  hanged 
at  East  Grinstead,  and  afterwards  remained  hanging 
in  chains  on  Slindon  Common.  Other  members 
of  the  gang  were  also  arrested,  tried  at  the  same 
assizes  as  highwaymen,  and  then  executed. 

Later  on,  two  of  the  smugglers  who  had  given 
evidence  against  the  men  that  were  hanged  at 
Chichester,  gave  information  also,  which  led  to  the 
arrest  of  Kingsmill,  Perin,  and  two  others  who  had 
been  concerned  in  breaking  open  the  Poole  Custom 
House.  Kingsmill,  Perin,  and  one  other  were 
hanged  at  Tyburn  in  April  of  1749  ;  the  other  man, 
however,  was  pardoned.  Thus  at  length  this 
dreaded  Hawkhurst  Gang  was  broken  up. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE    REVENUE    CRUISERS 

We  drew  attention  some  time  back  to  the  assist- 
ance occasionally  rendered  by  soldiers  when  the 
Riding  officers  were  about  to  arrest  smugglers. 
Early  in  the  year  1740,  or  about  the  close  of  1739, 
Thomas  Carswell,  one  of  the  Revenue  officers 
stationed  at  Rye,  was  murdered,  and  a  corporal  and 
three  dragoons  whom  he  had  taken  to  his  assistance 
were  badly  wounded,  and  a  large  quantity  of  tea 
that  had  been  seized  was  rescued.  It  was  after 
this  incident  that  Revenue  officers  of  this  port — 
perhaps  the  most  notorious  of  all  the  south-east 
smuggling  territory — were  ordered  that  in  future 
when  they  went  forth  to  make  seizurss  they  were 
to  have  with  them  an  adequate  military  force,  and 
to  this  end  they  were  to  make  previous  arrange- 
ments with  the  commanding-officer  of  the  forces 
in  that  district. 

But  in  spite  of  the  seizures  which  the  officers 
on  land  from  time  to  time  effected,  and  notwith- 
standing the  shortcomings  of  the  Custom  House 
cruisers  in  regard  to  speed,  and  the  frequent  negli- 
gence of  their  commanders,  it  still  remains  true 
that  these  cutters  and  sloops,  at  any  rate  until 

94. 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

about  the  year  1822  (when  the  Coastguard  service 
was  instituted)  continued  to  be  the  principal  and 
the  most  important  of  all  the  machinery  set  in 
motion  against  the  smugglers.  We  have  seen  this 
service  in  working  order  as  far  back  as  the  year 
1674,  at  any  rate,  when  the  fleet  consisted  of  only 
hired  vessels.  We  have  also  seen  that  they  were 
employed  in  sufficient  numbers  all  round  the  coast, 
and  that  the  Customs  authorities,  not  content 
merely  to  hire  such  vessels,  also  presently  obtained 
some  of  their  own.  It  is  possible  that  the  smacks 
were  used  for  such  service  even  before  the  date 
1674 — perhaps  very  soon  after  Charles  came  to  the 
throne — but  there  are  no  existing  records  of  this 
to  make  the  matter  certain.  The  Revenue  pre- 
ventive work,  in  so  far  as  the  cruisers  were  em- 
ployed, was  carried  on  by  a  mixed  control,  and 
embraced  six  separate  and  distinct  types  : — 

1.  There  were  the  English  Custom  House 
smacks,  cutters,  and  sloops,  some  of  which  were 
hired  vessels :  others  were  actually  owned  by  the 
English  Customs  Board. 

2.  There  were  the  English  Excise  cruisers, 
which  were  controlled  by  the  English  Excise  Board. 
They  appeared  to  be  very  similar  to  the  craft  in 
the  first  class. 

3.  There  were  the  Scottish  Customs  cruisers, 
under  the  control  of  the  Scottish  Customs  Board. 
The  official  at  the  head  of  these  was  known  as  the 
Agent  for  yachts. 

95 


KINCx'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

4.  There  were  the  Scottish  Excise  cruisers, 
controlled  by  the  Scottish  Excise  Board. 

5.  There  were  the  Irish  Revenue  cruisers, 
controlled  by  the  Irish  Customs  and  Excise. 

6.  And  lastly,  there  were  these  vessels  of  the 
Royal  Navy  which  were  employed  to  assist  the 
Revenue,  such  vessels  consisting  of  ships  of  the 
fifth-rate,  sixth-rate,  and  especially  the  armed 
sloops. 

In  the  present  volume  it  has  been  necessary, 
owing  to  the  limits  of  our  space,  to  restrict  our 
consideration  of  cruisers  chiefly  to  the  most  impor- 
tant of  these,  viz.  those  of  the  English  Custom 
House  and  those  of  the  Royal  Navy.  Under  such 
a  mixed  rule  it  was  obvious  that  many  difficulties 
arose,  and  that  the  clashing  of  interests  was  not 
infrequent.  For  instance,  between  the  English 
Custom  House  cruisers  and  the  English  Excise 
cruisers  there  was  about  as  much  friendship  as  there 
exists  usually  between  a  dog  and  a  cat.  Similarly 
between  the  former  and  the  Naval  cruisers  there 
was  considerable  jealousy,  and  every  display  of  that 
pompous,  bombastic  exhibition  of  character  which 
was  such  a  feature  of  the  life  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  the  first  years  of  the  next. 

Although  the  Revenue  cruisers  were  employed 
primarily  and  ordinarily  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting the  revenue,  yet  from  time  to  time  they 
were   mobilised   for   coast  defence.     On  different 

occasions  during  the  eighteenth  century  they  were 

96 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

lent  to  the  Admiralty,  and  well  supplied  with  men 
and  arms  in  readiness  for  actual  warfare.  After 
the  third  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  these 
Revenue  cruisers  seem  to  have  been  built  in  greater 
numbers  and  with  some  improvement  as  to  design, 
which,  seeing  that  they  had  so  frequently  been  left 
well  astern  by  the  smuggling  cutters,  was  more 
than  necessary.  There  was  issued  in  November 
of  1780,  by  the  Board  of  Customs,  an  interesting 
letter  that  shows  how  closely  these  cruisers  approxi- 
mated to  vessels  of  war,  even  when  they  were  not 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Admiralty.  This 
letter  was  sent  to  the  Collector  and  Controller 
at  the  different  English  Customs  ports,  and  began 
by  referring  to  the  fact  that  many  applications 
had  been  made  to  the  Board  asking  permission 
to  take  out  Letters  of  Marque.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  this  was  a  time  when  wars  seemed  to 
go  on  interminably,  and  there  had  been  only  a  few 
brief  intervals  of  peace  ever  since  the  Anglo-Dutch 
wars  began.  The  Commissioners  replied  that  they 
had  no  objection  to  the  commanders  of  the  cruisers 
providing  themselves  with  Letters  of  Marque,  if 
done  at  the  latter's  own  expense  "  during  present 
hostilities "  :  but  the  Board  declined  to  bear  any 
part  of  the  expense  for  any  damages  that  might  be 
sustained  in  an  engagement  where  no  seizure  had 
been  made  and  brought  into  port  for  a  breach  of 
the  Revenue  laws,  so  long  as  a  commander  should 

continue  to  hold  these  Letters  of  Marque.     It  was, 

97  G 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

in  fact,  a  basis  of  no  cure  no  pay.  Each  com- 
mander was,  further,  strictly  enjoined  not  to  quit 
his  station  and  duty  as  a  Revenue  officer  "under 
pretence  of  lookinf^  for  captures,  it  being  our 
resolution  to  recall  the  permission  hereby  granted, 
as  soon  as  it  shall  be  discovered  in  any  instance  to 
be  prejudicial  to  our  service." 

But  this  war-like  and  semi-war-like  service  was 
entirely  subservient  to  their  ordinary  work.  It  is 
evident  from  the  correspondence  of  the  Customs 
Board  of  this  same  year,  1780,  that  their  minds 
were  very  uneasy.  The  smugglers,  far  from  show- 
ing any  slackening,  had  become  more  active  than 
ever.  These  men  had,  to  quote  the  words  of  the 
Commissioners,  considerably  increased  the  size  and 
force  of  their  vessels  ;  they  had  also  added  to  their 
number  of  both  men  and  guns.  They  had  become 
so  violent  and  outrageous,  they  had  acquired  so 
much  audacity  as  to  "  carry  on  their  illicit  designs 
in  sight  of  the  Revenue  cruisers,"  and  "  whenever 
they  have  appeared  within  a  certain  distance  have 
actually  fired  into  and  threatened  to  sink  them." 
In  such  cases  as  these,  it  was  reported  to  the  Board, 
the  mariners  on  board  these  cruisers  have  fre- 
quently refused  to  bear  down  and  repel  their 
attacks,  explaining  their  conduct  by  saying  that  no 
provision  was  made  for  their  support  in  case  they 
received  injury  during  these  encounters.  To  meet 
such  objections  as  these  the  Board  resolved  to 
allow  the  sum  of  £lO  per  annum  to  every  mariner 

98 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

employed  on  board  their  cruisers  who  should  lose 
a  hand  or  foot,  or  receive  any  greater  injury 
by  firearms  "or  other  offensive  weapons  of  the 
smugglers  while  in  the  actual  execution  of  their 
duty  so  as  to  disable  them  from  further  service ; 
and  we  have  also  resolved  to  pay  the  surgeons' 
bills  for  such  of  the  mariners  as  may  receive 
slighter  wounds."  But  it  was  stipulated  that  no 
allowance  was  to  be  paid  unless  certificates  were 
produced  from  the  commanders  of  these  cruisers. 

And  before  we  go  any  further  with  the  progress 
of  these  cutters,  let  us  afford  actual  instances  of 
the  kind  of  treatment  which  had  led  the  Board  to 
make  this  allowance  to  its  men.  Three  years 
before  the  above  resolution,  that  is  to  say  on  April 
24,  1777,  Captain  Mitchell  was  cruising  in  com- 
mand of  the  Revenue  cutter  Swallow  in  the  North 
Sea.  Off  Robin  Hood's  Bay  he  fell  in  with  a 
smuggling  cutter  commanded  by  a  notorious  con- 
traband skipper  who  was  known  as  "  Smoker,"  or 
*'  Smoaker."  Mitchell  was  evidently  in  sufficient 
awe  of  him  to  give  him  a  wide  berth,  for  the  cruiser's 
commander  in  his  official  report  actually  recorded 
that  "  Smoker  "  "  waved  us  to  keep  of"  !  However, 
a  few  days  later,  the  Swallow,  when  off  the  Spurn, 
fell  in  with  another  famous  smuggler.  This  was 
the  schooner  Kent,  of  about  two  hundred  tons,  skip- 
pered by  a  man  known  as  "  Stoney."  Again  did 
this  gallant  Revenue  captain  send  in  his  report  to 

the  effect  that  "  as  their  guns  were  in  readiness,  and 

99 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

at  the  same  time  waving  us  to  go  to  the  Northward, 
we  were,  by  reason  of  their  superior  force,  obHged 
to  sheer  off,  but  did  our  best  endeavours  to  spoil 
his  JMarket.  There  [sic']  being  a  large  fleet  of 
colliers  with  him." 

But  that  was  not  to  be  their  last  meeting,  for 
on  May  2,  when  off  Whitby,  the  Swallow  again 
fell  in  with  the  Kent,  but  (wrote  Mitchell)  the 
smuggler  "  would  not  let  us  come  near  him."  The 
following  day  the  two  ships  again  saw  each  other, 
and  also  on  INIay  13,  when  off  Runswick  Bay. 
On  the  latter  occasion  the  ICe?it  "  fired  a  gun  for 
us,  as  we  imagined,  to  keep  farther  from  him." 
The  same  afternoon  the  Swallow  chased  a  large 
lugsail  boat,  with  fourteen  hands  in  her,  and  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  the  Kent.  But  the  Swallow 
was  about  as  timid  as  her  name,  for,  according  to 
her  commander,  she  was  "obliged  to  stand  out  to 
sea,  finding  that  by  the  force  they  had  in  their 
boat,  and  a  number  of  people  on  shore,  we  had  no 
chance  of  attacking  them  with  our  boat,  as  they  let 
us  know  they  were  armed,  by  giving  us  a  volley  of 
small  arms."  None  the  less  the  Swallow  had  also 
fourteen  men  as  her  complement,  so  one  would 
have  thought  that  this  chicken-hearted  commander 
would  at  least  have  made  an  effort  to  try  con- 
clusions. 

No  doubt,  the  Kent  was  a  pretty  tough  cus- 
tomer, and  both  skipper  and  his  crew  likewise.    But 

there  was  something  wanting  in  Captain  Mitchell. 

100 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

For  consider  another  of  the  latter's  exploits.  It 
was  the  last  week  of  September  of  that  same  year, 
and  the  scene  had  again  the  Yorkshire  coast  for  its 
background.  During  the  evening  they  espied  what 
they  rightly  believed  to  be  a  smuggling  cutter. 
They  got  as  far  as  hailing  her,  but,  as  it  was  very 
dark,  and  the  Swallow  did  not  know  the  force  of  the 
cutter,  Mitchell "  thought  it  most  prudent  to  leave 
her,"  and  so  came  to  anchor  in  Saltburn  Bay.  But 
the  smuggler  had  not  done  with  this  enterprising 
gentleman ;  so  the  next  day  the  smuggler  came 
into  the  bay,  stood  down  under  full  sail,  and  came 
charging  down  on  to  the  poor  Swallow,  striking 
her  on  the  quarter,  the  smuggler  swearing  terrible 
oaths  the  meanwhile,  that  if  Mitchell  did  not 
promptly  cut  his  cable — it  was  the  days  of  hemp, 
still— and  hurry  out  of  that  anchorage,  he  would 
sink  him.  What  happened,  do  you  ask  ?  Of 
course  the  Swallow  ought  to  have  been  under  way, 
and  should  never  have  been  lying  there.  She  was 
acting  contrary  to  the  orders  of  the  Board.  But 
what  must  we  think  of  a  captain  who  calmly 
awaits  the  on-coming  of  a  smuggler's  attack  ? 
Why,  so  soon  as  the  Swallow  espied  him  approach- 
ing, did  he  not  up  anchor,  hoist  sails,  and  go  to 
meet  him  with  his  crew  at  their  stations,  and  guns 
all  shotted  ?  But  even  after  this  gross  insult  to 
himself,  his  ship,  and  his  flag,  was  the  commander 
of  a  Revenue  sloop  to  obey  ? 

Yes — it  is   shameful   to   have   to   record   it — 
101 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Mitchell  did  obey.  True,  he  didn't  cut  his  cable, 
but  he  soon  tripped  his  anchor  and  cleared  out  as 
ordered.  The  poor  Swallow  had  been  damaged 
both  as  to  her  tail  and  her  wings,  for  the  smugglers 
had  injured  the  stern,  taken  a  piece  out  of  the 


"  Came  charging  down  .   .   .   striking  her  on  the  quarter." 

boom,  and  carried  away  the  topping-lift.  But  evi- 
dently in  those  days  the  Revenue  service  attracted 
into  its  folds  men  of  the  type  of  Mitchell.  Take 
the  case  of  Captain  Whitehead  of  the  Revenue 
cruiser  Eagle.  Espying  a  smuggling  vessel,  he 
gave  chase,  and  eventually  came  up  with  her,  also 

off  Saltburn.     Whitehead    hailed    her,    but    the 

102 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

smuggler's  skipper  replied — one  cannot  resist  a 
smile — "  with  a  horrid  expression,"  and  called  his 
men  to  arms.  The  smuggler  then  fired  a  volley 
with  muskets,  wounding  one  of  the  Eagle  s  crew. 
Presently  they  also  fired  their  swivel-guns,  "  on 
which  Captain  Whitehead  thought  it  prudent  to 
get  away  from  her  as  fast  as  he  could,  the  greatest 
part  of  his  people  having  quitted  the  deck." 

The  smuggler  continued  to  fire  at  the  retreating 
cruiser,  and  chased  the  Eagle  for  a  whole  hour 
after.  The  cutter  turned  out  to  be  that  which 
Mitchell  had  encountered  on  April  24,  1777,  and 
her  skipper  was  our  friend  "  Smoker  "  again.  This 
smuggling  craft  was  described  as  a  stout  cutter  of 
130  tons,  and  a  crew  of  upwards  of  forty  men.  She 
carried  fourteen  carriage  guns,  four  three-pounders, 
as  well  as  a  great  number  of  swivels.  "  Smoker's  " 
real  name  was  David  Browning,  and  he  was  recog- 
nised by  the  Eagle's  crew  from  his  voice,  which 
was  familiar  to  several  of  them.  During  that 
affray  the  Revenue  cruiser  received  about  twenty 
shot  in  her  sails,  about  a  dozen  in  her  boat,  and 
half  as  many  in  her  fore-  and  main-mast.  She  also 
had  her  mizzen  halyards  shot  away.  From  these 
details  it  would  seem  that  she  was  dandy-rigged, 
that  is  to  say,  she  had  a  mizzen  or  jigger  in  addition 
to  her  cutter  rig,  and  on  this  jigger  would  be  set  a 
small  lugsail  as  was  the  old  custom. 

Following  on  Mitchell's  meeting  with  the  Kent^ 

we  have  a  record  belonging  to  July  of  that  same 

103 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

year — 1777.  This  time  a  different  result  was  to 
come  about.  For  instead  of  acting  single-handed, 
the  sloops  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Royal  George — 
both  being  employed  by  the  Scottish  Excise  Board, 
aided  by  H.M.S.  PeUcaji  and  Arethusa — four  of 
them — at  last  managed  to  capture  this  schooner. 
She  was  found  to  be  armed  with  sixteen  four- 
pounders  and  twenty  swivel-guns,  and  also  had  a 
large  stock  of  gunpowder,  blunderbusses,  and  mus- 
kets. "  Stoney  "  was  taken  out  of  her,  and  he  was 
said  to  be  an  outlaw  whose  real  name  was  George 
Fagg.  The  guns  and  ammunition  were  taken 
ashore  and  put  in  the  King's  warehouse  at  Hull, 
and  the  crew  of  thirty-nine  were  placed  on  board 
the  Arethusa.  Among  these  prisoners  were  those 
who  had  murdered  a  dragoon  the  previous  year, 
while  the  latter  was  assisting  a  Custom  officer  at 
Whitby.  The  arrest  of  these  men  was  all  the 
more  interesting  for  a  reward  of  £100  for  their 
capture  had  been  long  outstanding. 

The  capture  of  the  Kent  had  been  effected  as 
follows :  the  two  Excise  cruisers  were  off  St. 
Abb's  Head  on  July  8,  and  hearing  that  the  Kent 
had  been  seen  off  Flamborough  Head  they  sailed 
south,  and  off  Filey  fell  in  with  her.  On  being 
hailed,  the  smuggler  beat  to  quarters,  shouting  to 

the  cruisers.     "  Fire,  you ,  and  be to  you." 

The   battle   at   once   commenced   and    continued 
smartly  for  an  hour,  when  the  Pelican  came  up  to 

give  assistance  to  the  two  cruisers.     The  Kent, 

104 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

big  as  she  was,  now  used  sweeps — it  was  reminis- 
cent of  the  days  of  EHzabethan  galleasses — and 
drew  away.     However  the  Pelican  (a  frigate)  over- 
hauled her,  and  the  Ai^ethusa  which  had  also  come 
up  gave  valuable  aid  as  well.     The  two  naval  cap- 
tains allowed  the  cruisers  to  seize  the  Kent,  and  to 
take  her  into  Hull,  but  the  prisoners  were  put  on 
board  the  Aretlmsa  as  stated.     The  Kenfs  master 
and  four  of  the  men  had  been  killed.     It  should 
be  added  that  the   day   before  this  incident  the 
Pelican  had  also  chased  the  Kent  out  of  Bridling- 
ton Bay,  so  the  smuggler  must  have  come  further 
north  in   the  meanwhile,  thus   meeting  the   two 
Scottish  cruisers  bound  south.     The  hatches  of  the 
Kent  were  found  to  be  unbattened,  and  her  cargo 
in  great  disorder.     The  latter  consisted   of  1974 
half-ankers,  and   a   large   amount   of  tea   packed 
in    oilskin-bags    to    the    number    of    55^.     This 
schooner   had   been  built    at   that    other   famous 
home  of  smugglers,  Folkestone.    She  was  specially 
rigged  for  fast  sailing,  her  mainmast  being  77  feet 
long,  and  her  main-boom  57  feet.     It  was  found 
that  her  sails  were  much  damaged  by  shot.     Her 
mainmast  was  shot  through  in  two  places,  and  her 
main-boom  rendered  quite  unserviceable.    Ship  and 
tackle  were  appraised  at  £1405,  16s.,  so  with  the 
addition  of  her  cargo  she  represented  a  fair  prize. 

But  "  Smoker  "  was  still  at  large  even  though 
"  Stoney  "  was  a  prisoner.  It  was  in  April  of  1777, 
when  Captain  Mitchell  had  fallen  in  with  him  off 

105 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Robin  Hood's  Bay.  A  month  later  the  Collector 
of  Hull  wrote  up  to  the  Board  to  say  that  a  large 
lugger  had  been  seen  off  AVhitby,  and  well  armed. 
She  was  described  as  "  greatly  an  overmatch  "  for 
any  of  the  Revenue  cruisers,  "  or  even  for  a  joint 
attack  of  two  of  them  "  :  and  that  as  long  as  she 
and  the  armed  cutter  commanded  by  Browning, 
alias  "  Smoker  "  continued  so  daringly  to  "  insult " 
the  coasts,  there  was  little  prospect  of  success.  For 
six  months  past  the  Revenue  cruisers  had  not  been 
able  to  make  any  seizures,  because  these  smug- 
gling craft  not  only  brought  over  vast  quantities 
themselves,  but  protected  the  smaller  ones  from 
the  attempts  of  the  Revenue  cruisers.  A  year  later, 
and  we  find  that  Mitchell  was  every  bit  as  slack 
as  before.  This  is  made  quite  clear  from  a  letter 
which  the  Collector  of  Hull  was  compelled  on 
November  12  (1778)  to  write.  In  this  epistle  he 
informs  Mitchell  that  either  he  or  his  mate,  one  of 
them,  must  remain  on  board  the  Swallow  at  night, 
when  lying  in  the  Humber.  For  it  appeared  that 
two  days  earlier  both  were  ashore.  The  mariner 
who  had  the  midnight  watch  on  board  the  cruiser 
saw  a  vessel,  supposed  to  be  a  privateer,  come 
right  up  the  Humber  into  Hull  Roads,  sail 
around  the  naval  tender  there  lying,  then  sail 
round  the  Swallow,  and  finally  down  the  river 
again.  Although  there  were  twelve  or  fourteen 
men   on   the    supposed    privateer's   deck,  yet  the 

Swallow's    watchman    did     not    even     hail    her, 

106 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

Mitchell    and    his    mate    being    ashore    all    the 
while. 

Such  incidents  as  the  above  show  that  there 
undoubtedly  was  cause  for  the  complaints  of  the 
Customs  Board  that  the  commanders  of  their 
cruisers  were  not  doing  all  that  might  have  been 
done  towards  suppressing  the  evil  at  hand.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  was  equally  true  that  the  delin- 
quents with  whom  these  commanders  had  to 
contest  were  of  a  particularly  virulent  and  vil- 
lainous type.  Thus,  between  the  negligence  of 
the  one  side,  and  the  enterprise  of  the  other,  his 
Majesty's  revenue  had  to  suffer  very  considerably. 
No  better  instance  of  the  potency  of  this  lawless- 
ness could  be  afforded  than  by  an  event  which 
happened  in  the  summer  of  1777.  Everyone 
knows,  of  course,  that  those  were  the  days  when 
men  had  to  be  impressed  into  the  service  of  the 
Navy,  so  that,  when  any  of  these  hardy  smugglers 
were  captured,  they  were  valuable  acquisitions  to 
the  Service,  and  far  more  useful  than  many  of  the 
disease-stricken  crews  which  so  often  had  to  be 
shipped  to  make  up  a  man-of-war's  complement. 
In  the  year  we  are  speaking  of  a  number  of  smug- 
glers who  had  been  captured  on  the  North  Sea 
were  put  on  board  H.M.  tender  Lively  hj  Captain 
O'Hara  of  the  Impress  service,  the  intention  being 
to  convey  these  men  to  one  of  his  Majesty's 
ships  at  the  Nore.     The  tender   got  under    way 

and    was    proceeding    to    her    destination    when 

107 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  smuggler-prisoners  mutinied,  overpowered  the 
Lively  s  crew,  and  carried  the  Lively  into  Flushing. 

And  similar  examples  of  the  impudence  and 
violence  of  other  North  Sea  smugglers  could  also 
be  quoted.  On  the  7th  of  May  1778,  Captain 
Bland,  of  the  Mermaid  Revenue  cruiser,  was  off 
Huntcliff  Fort,  when  he  sighted  a  smuggling 
sliallop.^  Bland  promptly  bore  down,  and  as  he  ap- 
proached hailed  her.  But  the  shallop  aaswered  by 
firing  a  broadside.  The  Revenue  cruiser  now  pre- 
pared to  engage  her,  whereupon  the  shallop  hoisted 
an  English  pennant,  which  was  evidently  a  signal 
for  assistance,  for  a  large  armed  cutter  promptly 
appeared  and  came  to  the  shallop's  rescue.  Seeing 
that  he  was  overmatched.  Bland,  therefore,  sheered 
off.  During  the  same  month  Captain  Whitehead, 
of  the  Eagle,  to  whom  we  have  already  referred, 
reported  that  he  seldom  went  for  a  cruise  without 
being  fired  on,  and  he  mentioned  that  sometimes 
these  smuggling  vessels  carried  musket-proof  breast- 
works— a  kind  of  early  armour-plating,  in  fact. 

The  principal  rendezvous  of  the  smuggling  craft 
in  the  North  Sea  was  Robin  Hood's  Bay.  When- 
ever the  cruisers  used  to  approach  that  bight  the 
smugglers  would  sail  out,  fire  upon  them,  and 
drive  them  along  the  coast.  Before  firing,  the 
smugglers  always  hoisted  English  colours,  and  on 
one  occasion  a  smuggling  craft  had  the  temerity 

1  "  Shallop,  a  sort  of  large  boat  with  two  masts^  and  usually  rigged 
like  a  schooner." — Moore. 

108 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

to    run    alongside   a   Revenue    cruiser,    hail   her, 
and  in  a  derisive  manner  ordered  the  commander 
to  send  his  boat  aboard.     We  spoke  just  now  of 
the  superior  sailing  qualities  which  these  smug- 
gling craft  frequently  possessed  over  the  Revenue 
cruisers,  and  on  one  occasion,  in  the  North  Sea, 
the  master  of  a  smuggling  shallop,  when  being 
pursued,   impudently   lowered    his   lugsail  —  that 
would  be  his  mizzen — to  show  that   the   cruiser 
could  not  come  up  and  catch  him.     And  lest  that 
dishonourable   incident   previously   mentioned,   of 
a  cruiser  being  ordered  out  of  Saltburn  Bay,  may 
be  thought  a  mere  isolated  event,  let  us  hasten 
to  add   that   the   cruiser   Mermaid  was   lying  at 
anchor  off  Dunstanburgh  Castle,  on  the  North- 
umbrian   coast,    when    Edward    Browning   came 
alongside   her   in   an   armed   shallop    named    the 
Porcupine,  belonging  to  Sandwich.     He  insisted 
on  the  Mermaid  getting  up  her  anchor  and  leav- 
ing that  region :  "  otherwise  he  would  do  him  a 
mischief."      Indeed,  were  these   facts  not  shown 
unmistakably  by   actual  eye-witnesses  to   be  the 
very   reverse    of    fiction,   one   might   indeed   feel 
doubtful   as   to   accepting   them.      But  it  is  un- 
likely   that    cruiser-commanders    would    go    out 
of  their   way  to   record   incidents  which  injured 
their  reputation,  had  these  events  never  in  reality 
occurred. 

Some    idea    of  the    degree  of  success   which 

smuggling  vessels  attained  during  this  eighteenth 

109 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

century  may  be  gathered  from  the  achievements 
of  a  cutter  which  was  at  work  on  the  south 
coast.  Her  name  was  the  Swift,  and  she  belonged 
to  Bridport.  She  was  of  100  tons  burthen,  car- 
ried no  fewer  than  16  guns  and  a  crew  of  fifty. 
During  the  year  1783  she  had  made  several  runs 
near  Torbay,  and  on  each  occasion  had  been  able 
to  land  about  2000  casks  of  spirits,  as  well  as  4 
or  5  tons  of  tea.  Afterwards  the  whole  of  this 
valuable  cargo  had  been  run  inland  by  about 
200  men,  in  defiance  of  the  Revenue  officers. 
Then  there  was  the  Range?\  a  bigger  craft  still, 
of  250  tons.  She  carried  an  enormous  crew  for 
her  size — nearly  100— and  mounted  22  guns.  She 
had  been  built  at  Cawsand,  that  village  which 
in  smuggling  days  attained  so  much  notoriety, 
and  stands  at  the  end  of  a  delightful  bay  facing 
the  western  end  of  Plymouth  Breakwater.  This 
vessel  had  a  successful  time  in  landing  cargoes 
to  the  east  of  Torbay  without  paying  the  lawful 
duty.  And  there  were  many  fisliing-boats  of 
from  18  to  25  tons,  belonging  to  Torbay,  which 
were  at  this  time  accustomed  to  run  across  the 
Channel,  load  up  with  the  usual  contraband,  and 
then  hover  about  outside  the  limits  of  the  land. 
When  they  were  convinced  that  the  coast  was 
clear  of  any  cruisers  they  would  run  into  the  bay 
and  land,  sink  or  raft  their  cargoes,  according  to 
circumstances. 

And    now,    leaving    for    the    present    actual 
110 


THE   REVENUE  CRUISERS 

skirmishes  and  chases  in  which  the  Revenue  cruisers 

were  concerned,  let  us  look  a  little  more  closely 

into  their  organisation.     From  the  report  by  the 

Commissioners  appointed  to  examine  the  Public 

Accounts  of  the   kingdom,  and   issued   in    1787, 

it  is  shown  that  the  Custom  House  cruisers  were 

of  two  classes:   (1)  Those  which  were  owned  by 

the  Board,  and  (2)    Those  which  were  hired  by 

contract.     And  as  to  this  latter  class  there  was 

a  further  subdivision  into  two  other  classes ;  for 

one   section    of   these    vessels   was    furnished    by 

the   Crown,  no  charge   being  made  for  the  hire. 

But  her  outfit,  her  future  repairs,  in  addition  to 

the  wages  and  victualling  of  the    crew,  and  all 

other  expenses,  were  paid  out  of  the  produce  of 

the  seizures  which  these  cruisers  effected.     After 

this,  if  anything  remained  beyond  these  deductions, 

the  residue  was  to  be  divided  between  the  Crown 

and  the  contractor.     Very  often,  of  course,  when 

a  fine  haul  was  made  of  a  £1000  worth  of  cargo, 

there  was  quite  a  nice  little  sum  for  both  parties 

to  the  contract,  and  a  few  other,  smaller,  seizures 

during  the  year  would  make  the  business  quite 

a  profitable  undertaking.     But  when  the  amount 

of  seizures  was  not  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses 

the  deficiency  was  supplied  by  the  contractor  and 

Crown  in  equal  proportions.     That,  then,  was  one 

of  these  two  subdivisions  of  contracted  cruisers. 

But   in   the    second   of   these    the    contractor 

provided  the  vessel,  for   which  he   was  paid   the 

111 


KING'S    CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

sum  of  4s.  6d.  a  ton  per  lunar  month.  It  may 
seem  at  first  that  this  was  poor  remuneration, 
especially  when  one  recollects  that  to-day,  when 
the  Government  hires  liners  from  the  great  steam- 
ship companies,  the  rate  of  payment  is  £l  per  ton 
per  month.  In  the  case  of  even  a  10,000-ton 
liner  there  is  thus  a  very  good  payment  for 
about  thirty  days.  But  in  the  case  of  a  cutter  of 
100  tons  or  less,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  4s.  6d. 
per  ton  may  seem  very  small  in  comparison. 
However,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  although 
for  this  money  the  contractor  was  to  find  the 
outfit  of  the  vessel,  and  be  responsible  for  all 
repairs  needed,  yet  the  aforesaid  contractor  might 
make  a  good  deal  more  in  a  lucky  year.  It  was 
done  on  the  following  basis.  From  the  produce 
of  the  seizures  made  by  this  subdivision  of  cruisers 
all  remaining  charges  additional  to  those  men- 
tioned above  were  paid,  but  the  surplus  was  divided 
between  the  Crown  and  contractor.  Thus  the 
latter  stood  to  gain  a  large  sum  if  only  a  moderate 
number  of  seizures  had  been  made,  and  there 
was,  by  this  method,  every  incentive  for  the  hired 
cruisers  to  use  their  best  endeavours  to  effect 
captures.  Still,  if  there  was  a  deficiency  instead 
of  a  surplus,  this  was  also  shared  by  both  con- 
tracting parties. 

In   the   year    1784   there   were,  reckoning   all 
classes,   44  cruisers  employed,   and    1041    men  as 

crews.     Of  these    cruisers    the    Commander,  the 

112 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

Chief  Mate  and  Second  Mate,  and,  in  certain 
vessels,  the  Deputed  Mariners,  were  all  officers 
of  the  Customs.  In  the  case  of  the  first  class 
of  cruisers — those  which  were  on  the  establishment 
— these  officers  were  appointed  by  the  Board 
pursuant  to  warrants  from  the  Treasury.  In  the 
case  of  the  second — those  which  were  hired  by 
contract — the  officers  were  appointed  by  the 
Customs  Board.  The  captain  of  the  cruiser  was 
paid  £50  per  annum,  the  chief  mate  either  £35 
or  £30,  and  the  crew  were  each  paid  £15.  But, 
as  we  shall  see  from  a  later  page,  the  rate  of 
pay  was  considerably  increased  some  years  after- 
wards. The  victualling  allowance  was  at  the  rate 
of  9d.  per  diem  for  each  man  on  board,  and 
an  allowance  of  Is.  each  was  made  by  the  lunar 
month  for  fire  and  candle.  This  last-mentioned 
allowance  was  also  modified  in  the  course  of  time. 
Some  idea  as  to  the  seriousness,  from  a  financial 
point  of  view,  of  this  cruiser  fleet  may  be  gathered 
from  the  statement  that  these  44  vessels  cost 
the  Government  for  a  year's  service  the  sum  of 
£44,355,  16s.  Id. 

The  largest  of  these  forty-four  cruisers  was  the 
Repulse,  210  tons.  She  carried  33  men  and  was 
stationed  at  Colchester.  Her  cost  for  this  year 
(1784)  was  £1552, 16s.  8d.  She  was  not  one  of  the 
hired  vessels,  but  on  the  establishment.  Next  in 
size  came  the  Tartar,  194  tons,  with  31  men,  her 
station  being  Dover.    She  was  on  the  establishment, 

113  H 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

and  her  annual  cost  was  £1304,  6s.  2jd.  Of  the 
same  tonnage  was  the  Speedwell,  which  cruised 
between  Weymouth  and  Cowes.  There  was  also 
the  Rose,  190  tons,  with  30  men,  stationed  at 
Southampton,  being  on  the  establishment  likewise. 
Next  to  her  in  size  came  the  Diligence,  175  tons, 
with  32  men.  She  cruised  between  Poole  and 
Weymouth.  She  was  one  of  the  hired  vessels,  and 
was  in  1784  removed  from  Weymouth  to  have  her 
headquarters  at  Cowes.  The  smallest  of  all  the 
cruisers  at  this  time  was  the  Nimble,  41  tons  and 
a  crew  of  30.  She  also  was  a  hired  craft.  Her 
station  was  at  Deal,  and  her  annual  cost  was 
£1004,  9s.  9d.  for  the  year  mentioned. 

But  though  there  was  less  expenditure  needed 
at  the  outset,  these  contract  ships  were  not  alto- 
gether satisfactory :  or  rather  it  was  the  method 
than  the  cruisers  themselves.  For  if  we  have  any 
knowledge  at  all  of  human  nature,  and  especially 
of  the  dishonest  character  which  so  frequently 
manifested  itself  in  the  eighteenth  century,  we  can 
readily  imagine  that  the  contractor,  unless  he  was 
a  scrupulously  honourable  man,  would  naturally 
succumb  to  the  temptation  to  economise  too  strictly 
regarding  the  keeping  the  ship  in  the  best  condi- 
tion of  repair ;  or  he  might  gain  a  little  by  giving 
her  not  quite  a  sufficiently  numerous  crew,  thus 
saving  both  wages  and  victuals.  For  the  Crown 
allowed  a  certain  number  of  men,  and  paid  for  the 

complement  which  they  were  supposed  to  carry. 

114 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

Therefore,  since  this  arrangement  was  marked 
by    serious  drawbacks,   the  contract    system  was 
discontinued,  and  at  the  beginning  of  1788  fifteen 
contracts    were    ended,   and    five   other    cruisers' 
contracts  were   not  renewed   when  they  expired 
in  that  year.     All  the  cruisers  in  the  employment 
of  the  Customs  Service  were  now  placed  on  the 
establishment,  and  the  practice  of  paying  the  charges 
and  expenses  out  of  the  King's  share  of  the  con- 
demned goods  was  rescinded.     In  the  year  1797  the 
number  of  Customs  cruisers  was  37,  the  commanders 
being  appointed  by  the  Treasury  ;  and  it  may  be  not 
without  interest  to  mention  the  names,  tonnage, 
and  guns  of  some  of  those  which  were  on   the 
books   for   that    year.     There   was   the    J^igilant, 
which  was  described  as  a  yacht,  53  tons,  6  guns, 
and  13  men  ;  the   Vigilant  cutter,  82  tons,  8  guns. 
During  the   winter  season  she  cruised    with   ten 
additional  hands  off  the  coasts  of  Essex,  Kent,  and 
Sussex.     There  was  another,  the  Diligence,  given 
as  of  152  tons  ;  the  Swalloiv,  153  tons  and  10  guns  ; 
the  Lively,  113  tons,  12  guns,  and  30  men.     The 
Swift,  52  tons  and  8  men,  used  to  cruise  between 
the  Downs  and  the  Long  Sand  (to  the  North  of 
the  North  Foreland  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames). 
Some    of  the  old  names  under  the  former  dual 
system    are   seen    to    be    commemorated    in   the 
Nimble  (41  tons,  2  guns,  15  men).     Her  station 
was  Deal,  and  she  used  to  cruise  between  the  Fore- 
lands.    The  Tartar  of  this  period  was  of  100  tons, 

115 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

had  10  guns  and  23  men.  But  the  Greyhound, 
probably  one  of  the  fastest  eruisers,  was  of  200 
tons,  mounted  IG  guns,  and  carried  43  men.  Her 
cruising  ground  was  between  Beachy  Head 
and  the  Start,  and  her  station  at  Weymouth. 
A  much  smaller  craft  was  the  cruiser  Busy  (46 
tons  and  11  men).  Her  cruising  was  in  a  much 
smaller  area — around  Plymouth  Sound  and  Caw- 
sand  Bay. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  commanders  had  been 
wont  too  often  to  run  into  port  for  real  or  imag- 
inary repairs,  the  Commissioners  decided  that  in 
future,  when  a  cruiser  put  in,  she  was  to  inform 
the  Collector  and  Controller  of  that  port  by  means 
of  her  commander,  and  both  to  give  his  reasons 
for  coming  in,  and  to  estimate  the  length  of  time 
he  was  likely  to  remain  in  port,  before  his  being 
able  to  sail  again. 

With  regard  to  the  prize-money  which  these 

cruisers  were  able  to  make ;  before  the  year  1790 

there  had  been  a  diversity  of  practice  in  the  method 

of  sharing.     In  allotting  rewards  to   officers   for 

seizing  vessels  which  afterwards  had  been  taken 

into  the  Revenue  Service,  it  had  formerly  been  the 

practice  to  deduct  the  whole  of  the  charges  out  of 

the  officers'  moiety  of  the  appraised  value.     But 

from  April  14,  1790,  "  for  the  encouragement  of 

the  seizing  officers,"  the  charge  was  deducted  from 

the  total  appraised  value,  and  the  seizing  officers 

were  to  be  paid  a  moiety  of  the  net  produce,  if 

116 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISERS 

any.  It  had  also  been  the  custom  to  allow  the 
commanders  of  Admiralty  cruisers  permission  to 
use  seized  vessels  as  tenders.  But  from  May  6, 1790, 
this  practice  was  also  discontinued  by  the  Board, 
who  ordered  that  in  case  any  such  vessels  were  so 
employed  at  the  different  ports,  the  commanders 
were  to  deliver  them  up  "with  their  tackle, 
apparel,  and  furniture,"  to  the  Collector  and  Con- 
troller of  Customs. 

We  referred  some  time  back  to  the  fact  that 
these  Revenue  cruisers  at  times  were  mobilised 
for  war,  and  also  that  to  them  were  granted 
Letters  of  Marque.  In  this  connection  there  is 
to  be  noted  an  interesting  warrant,  under  the 
King's  sign-manual,  dated  June  11,  1795,  which 
reads : — 

*'  Whereas  the  Commissioners  of  our  Trea- 
sury have  represented  unto  us  that  the  cutters 
in  the  service  of  our  Revenues  of  Customs 
have  captured  several  Ships  and  Vessels  be- 
longing to  the  enemy,  and  have  recommended 
it  unto  us  to  issue  our  warrant  to  grant  the 
proceeds  of  the  Prizes  that  have  been  or  shall 
be  taken  by  the  cutters  in  the  service  of  our 
Customs,  granted  to  the  cutters  capturing 
such  prizes  respectively,  and  the  expenses  of 
the  proceedings,  in  regard  thereto,  among 
officers  and  crews  of  the  vessels  in  the  search 
of  our  Customs,  who  made  the  said  cap- 
tures, together  with  the  head-money,  in  all 
117 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

cases  wliere  head-money  is  or   may   be   due 
by  law.  .  .  . 

"  Our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  the  proceeds 
of  all  such  Prizes  as  have  been  or  shall  be 
taken  from  the  enemy  in  the  course  of  the 
present  war,  by  the  cutters  in  the  service  of 
our  Revenue  of  Customs,  after  deducting  all 
expenses  of  the  Letters  of  Marque  granted  to 
the  cutters  capturing  such  Prizes  respectively, 
and  the  expenses  of  the  proceedings  in  regard 
thereto,  together  with  the  head-money  in  all 
cases  where  head-money  is  or  may  be  due  by 
law,  shall  be  distributed  in  the  manner  follow- 
ing ;  that  is  to  say  "  : — 

The  Commander  .  .  .  ^ds. 
Mate  .....  a^ds. 
Deputed  Mariner^  or  deputed^  ^^ds.,  exclusive  of  their 

mariners  if  more  than  onej        shares  as  Mariners. 
Other  Mariners         .  .  .  ^%^ds. 


^3^^^ 


If  there  is  no  deputed  Mariner, 
The  Commander      .  .  .J 

The  Mate         .  .  .  .     i 

Mariners  .  .  .  .     1 


It  may  be  mentioned,  in  passing,  that  a  "de- 
puted" mariner  was  one  who  held  a  deputation  from 
the  Customs  Board.  Another  warrant,  similar  to  the 
above,  and  to  the  same  effect,  was  issued  on  July  4, 
of  that  memorable  year  1805.  In  July  of  1797, 
the  Customs  Commissioners  drew  attention  to 
the    third    article    of   the    "  Instructions    for    the 

118 


THE   REVENUE   CRUISEKS 

Commanders  and  Mates  of  the  Cruisers  employed  in 
the  service  of  this  Revenue,"  reminding  them  that 
the  commanders,  mariners,  and  mates  vv^ere  in  no 
case  to  be  allowed  to  participate  in  the  officers' 
shares  of  seizures  made  by  the  crews  of  the 
cruisers  unless  the  first-mentioned  had  been  actu- 
ally present  at  the  time  when  the  seizure  was 
made,  or  could  afford  satisfactory  proof  that  they 
were  necessarily  absent  on  some  duty.  Therefore 
the  Board  now  directed  that,  whenever  the  crews 
of  the  cruisers  made  a  seizure,  a  list  of  the  officers 
who  were  not  actually  on  board  or  in  the  boats  of 
the  cruisers  at  that  time  was  to  be  transmitted 
to  the  Board  with  the  account  of  the  seizure.  Then 
follows  the  other  instruction  which  has  already  been 
alluded  to.  In  order  that  the  station  of  the  afore- 
said cruisers  may  never  be  left  unguarded  by  their 
coming  into  port  for  provisions,  or  to  be  cleaned 
and  refitted,  or  for  any  other  necessary  purpose, 
the  commanders  were  instructed  to  arrange  with 
each  other  "that  nothing  but  absolute  necessity 
shall  occasion  their  being  in  Port  at  one  and  the 
same  time." 

It  will  be  recognised  that  the  object  of  this  was, 
if  possible,  to  keep  the  officers  of  the  cruisers  on 
board  their  vessels,  and  at  sea,  instead  of  ever  run- 
ning into  port.  For  it  would  seem  that  by  more 
than  one  of  these  gentlemen  the  work  of  cruising 
on  behalf  of  the  Revenue  Service  was  regarded 

too  much   in   the   light   of  a  pleasant,  extended 

119 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

yachting  trip,  with  an  occasional  chase  and  seizure 
of  a  smuggHng  craft  to  break  the  monotony  of 
their  existence  and  to  swell  their  purses.  But 
such  a  pleasant  life  was  not  that  contemplated  by 
the  Customs  authorities. 


120 


CHAPTER   VII 

CUTTERS   AND    SLOOPS 

We  have  spoken  during  the  preceding  chapters 
of  the  revenue  cruisers  sometimes  as  cutters  and 
sometimes  as  sloops.  For  the  reason  that  will 
quickly  become  apparent  let  us  now  endeavour  to 
straighten  out  any  confusion  which  may  have 
arisen  in  the  mind  of  the  reader. 

Practically,  sloops  and  cutters  of  these  days 
were  one  and  the  same,  with  very  minor  differ- 
ences. In  a  valuable  French  nautical  volume 
published  in  1783,  after  explaining  that  the  cutter 
came  to  the  French  from  England,  the  definition 
goes  on  to  state  that  in  her  rigging  and  sail-plan 
she  resembles  a  sloop,  except  that  the  former  has 
her  mast  longer,  and  inclined  further  aft,  and  has 
greater  sail-area.  The  cutter  also  has  but  little 
freeboard,  and  in  order  to  carry  her  large  sail-area 
she  draws  more  water.  This  authority  then  goes 
on  to  mention  that  such  craft  as  these  cutters 
are  employed  by  the  smugglers  of  the  English 
Channel,  "  and  being  able  to  carry  a  good  deal  of 
sail  they  can  easily  escape  from  the  guardships. 
The   English   Government,  for  the  same  reason, 

121 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

maintain  a  good  many  of  these  craft  so  as  to  stop 
these  smugglers."  Our  English  authority,  Falconer, 
described  the  cutter  as  having  one  mast  and  a 
straight-running  bowsprit  that  could  be  run  in- 
board on  deck.  But  for  this,  and  the  fact  that  the 
cutter's  sail-area  was  larger,  these  craft  were  much 
the  same  as  sloops.  Falconer  also  states  that  a 
sloop  differs  from  a  cutter  by  having  a  fixed 
steeving  bowsprit  and  a  jib-stay.  Moore,  who  was 
also  a  contemporary,  makes  similar  definitions  in 
almost  identical  language.  The  real  difference, 
then,  was  that  the  cutter  could  run  her  bowsprit 
inboard,  but  the  sloop  could  not. 

Now,  in  the  year  1785,  a  very  interesting  matter 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  Board  of  Customs  in 
this  connection.  It  appeared  that  in  an  important 
trial  concerning  a  certain  vessel  the  defence  was  set 
up  that  this  vessel  had  changed  her  character  by  so 
altering  her  "  boltsprit "  that  it  became  fixed  and 
could  not  be  run  inboard.  It  was  found  that  all 
which  her  owners  had  done  was  to  pass  an  iron 
bolt  through  the  bits  and  heel  of  the  bowsprit, 
clenching  it.  The  defendant  insisted  that  thus 
he  had  rendered  it  a  complete  standing  "  boltsprit," 
and  not  a  running  one :  and  that,  therefore,  by 
such  alteration,  his  vessel  became  transformed 
from  a  cutter  to  a  sloop.  And,  according  to  the 
definitions  which  we  have  just  brought  forward, 
one  would   have   thought   that   this  was   a  good 

defence.     However,  the  Crown  thought  otherwise, 

122 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

and  contended  that  the  alteration  was  a  mere 
evasion  of  the  Act  in  question,  and  that  the  vessel 
remained  a  cutter  because  such  fastening  could 
be  removed  at  pleasure,  and  then  the  "  boltsprit " 
v^ould  run  in  and  out  as  it  did  before  the  altera- 
tion. The  jury  also  took  this  view,  and  the  cutter, 
which  thought  herself  a  sloop,  was  condemned. 
The  Revenue  officers  and  commanders  of  Ad- 
miralty sloops  were  accordingly  warned  to  make 
a  note  of  this.  For  a  number  of  years  the  matter 
was  evidently  left  at  that.  But  in  1822  the 
Attorney  and  Solicitor-General,  after  a  difficult 
case  had  been  raised,  gave  the  legal  distinction  as 
follows,  the  matter  having  arisen  in  connection 
with  the  licensing  of  a  craft :  "A  cutter  may 
have  a  standing  bowsprit  of  a  certain  length  with- 
out a  licence,  but  the  distinction  between  a  sloop 
and  a  cutter  should  not  be  looked  for  in  the  rigging 
but  in  the  build  and  form  of  the  hull,  and,  therefore, 
when  a  carvel-built  vessel  corresponds  as  to  her 
hull  with  the  usual  form  of  a  sloop,  she  will  not 
merely,  by  having  a  running  bowsprit,  become  a 
cutter  within  the  meaning  of  the  Act  of  the 
24  Geo.  III.  cap.  47,  and  consequently  will  not 
be  liable  to  forfeiture  for  want  of  a  licence." 
From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  whereas  Falconer 
and  other  nautical  authorities  relied  on  the  fixing 
of  the  bowsprit  to  determine  the  diffisrenoe,  the 
legal   authorities   relied   on   a  difference   in   hull. 

The  point  is  one  of  great  interest,  and  I  believe 

123 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  matter  has  never  been  raised  before  by  any 
modern  nautical  writer.^ 

As  to  what  a  Revenue  cutter  looked  like,  the 
illustrations  which  have  been  here  reproduced 
will  afford  the  reader  a  very  good  idea.  And 
these  can  be  supplemented  by  the  following 
description  which  JMarryat  gives  in  The  Three 
Cutters.  It  should  be  mentioned  that  the  period 
of  which  he  is  speaking  is  that  which  we  have 
been  contemplating,  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

"  She  is  a  cutter,"  he  writes,  "  and  you  may 
know  that  she  belongs  to  the  Preventive  Service 
by  the  number  of  gigs  and  galleys  which  she  has 
hoisted  up  all  round  her.  She  looks  like  a  vessel 
that  was  about  to  sail  with  a  cargo  of  boats  :  two 
on  deck,  one  astern,  one  on  each  side  of  her.  You 
observe  that  she  is  painted  black,  and  all  her  boats 
are  white.  She  is  not  such  an  elegant  vessel  as 
the  yacht,  and  she  is  much  more  lumbered  up.  .  .  . 
Let  us  go  on  board.  You  observe  the  guns  are 
iron,  and  painted  black,  and  her  bulwarks  are 
painted  red ;  it  is  not  a  very  becoming  colour,  but 
then  it  lasts  a  long  while,  and  the  dockyard  is  not 
very  generous  on  the  score  of  paint — or  lieutenants 
of  the  navy  troubled  with  much  spare  cash.  She 
has  plenty  of  men,  and  fine  men  they  are  ;  all 
dressed  in  red  flannel  shirts  and  blue  trousers ; 
some  of  them  have  not  taken  off  their  canvas  or 

^  See  also  Appendix  I. 
124 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

tarpaulin  petticoats,  which  are  very  useful  to 
them,  as  they  are  in  the  boats  night  and  day,  and 
in  all  weathers.  But  we  will  at  once  go  down  into 
the  cabin,  where  we  shall  find  the  lieutenant  who 
commands  her,  a  master's  mate,  and  a  midshipman. 
They  have  each  their  tumbler  before  them,  and 
are  drinking  gin-toddy,  hot,  with  sugar — capital 
gin,  too,  'bove  proof ;  it  is  from  that  small  anker 
standing  under  the  table.  It  was  one  that  they 
forgot  to  return  to  the  Custom  House  when  they 
made  their  last  seizure." 

In  1786,  by  the  26  Geo.  III.  c.  40,  section  27, 
it  was  made  lawful  for  any  commander  of  any  of 
his  Majesty's  vessels  of  war,  or  any  officer  by  them 
authorised,  to  make  seizures  without  a  deputation 
or  commission  from  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Customs.  Those  were  curious  times  when  we 
recollect  that  apart  altogether  from  the  men-of- 
war  of  varying  kinds,  there  were  large  numbers  of 
armed  smuggler-cutters,  Custom-House  cutters 
with  letters  of  marque,  privateers,  and  even  Alge- 
rine  corsairs  from  the  Mediterranean,  in  the  English 
Channel.  It  is  to-day  only  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago  since  one  of  these  Algerine  craft  was 
wrecked  near  Penzance  in  the  early  autumn. 

We  mentioned  just  now  the  Act  of  George  III. 
which  required  craft  to  be  licensed.  This  was 
another  of  the  various  means  employed  for  the 
prevention  of  smuggling,  and  since  the  passing  of 
this  Act  those  luggers  and  cutters  which  engaged 

125 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

in  the  running  of  goods  endeavoured  to  evade  the 
Act's  penalties  by  possessing  themselves  of  foreign 
colours  and  foreign  ship's  papers.  Now,  as  a  fact, 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  such  craft  belonged  to 
Deal,  Folkestone,  and  other  south-coast  ports  of 
Enofland.  Their  masters  were  also  from  the  same 
localities,  and  very  few  of  them  could  speak  Dutch 
or  French.  But  for  the  purpose  of  evading  the 
English  law  they  got  themselves  made  burghers  of 
Ostend,  and  notwithstanding  that  their  crews  were 
for  the  most  part  English  they  designated  their 
craft  as  foreign. 

During  the  year  1785  it  happened  that  two  of 
these  pseudo-foreign  smuggling  craft  were  chased 
by  an  English  frigate.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  frigate  had  no  pilot  on  board,  one  of  these 
vessels  escaped,  but  the  other,  after  a  chase  lasting 
five  hours,  realised  that  she  would  soon  be  over- 
hauled. Her  master,  therefore,  threw  overboard 
his  cargo  as  the  frigate  fast  approached,  and  in 
company  with  a  number  of  his  crew  took  to  his 
large  boat.  The  lugger,  after  no  fewer  than 
twenty  shots  had  been  fired  at  her,  hove-to.  On 
taking  possession  of  the  lugger  and  examining  her 
papers  it  appeared  that  her  master's  name  was  the 
very  English-sounding  Thomas  March,  and  yet 
he  described  himself  as  a  burgher  of  Ostend,  the 
vessel  being  owned  by  a  merchant.  The  master's 
excuse  was  that  he  was  a  pilot-boat  cruising  with 

a  number  of  pilots  on  board,  and  for  this  reason  it 

126 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

was  decided  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  the  doubt 
and  not  detain  him.  But  the  frigate's  captain  had 
noticed  that  before  the  lugger  had  hove-to  during 
the  evening  a  part  of  the  cargo  had  been  thrown 
overboard.  The  following  morning,  therefore,  he 
proceeded  on  board  a  Revenue  cutter,  "  went  into 
the  track  where  the  cargo  was  thrown  overboard," 
and  was  able  to  find  just  what  he  had  expected, 
for  he  located  and  drew  out  of  the  sea  no  fewer 
than  700  half-ankers  of  foreign  spirits. 

This  precedent  opened  up  an  important 
question ;  for  if  a  neutral  vessel,  or  indeed  any 
craft  similarly  circumstanced  as  the  above,  were  to 
anchor  off  the  English  coast  it  was  hardly  possible 
to  detect  her  in  running  goods,  as  it  seldom  took 
more  than  an  hour  to  land  a  whole  cargo,  owing 
to  the  great  assistance  which  was  given  from  the 
people  on  the  shore.  For,  as  it  was  officially 
pointed  out,  as  soon  as  one  of  these  vessels  was 
sighted  300  people  could  usually  be  relied  on  with 
200  or  more  carts  and  waggons  to  render  the 
necessary  service.  Therefore  the  commanders  of 
the  cutters  sought  legal  advice  as  to  how  they 
should  act  on  meeting  with  luggers  and  cutters 
without  Admiralty  passes  on  the  English  coast 
but  more  or  less  protected  with  foreign  papers 
and  sailing  under  foreign  colours. 

The  matter  was  referred  to  the  Attorney- 
General,  who  gave  his  opinion  that  vessels  were 

forfeitable  only  in  the  event   of  their  being  the 

127 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

property  in  whole  or  part  of  his  Majesty's  sub- 
jects ;  but  where  the  crew  of  such  a  vessel  appeared 
all  to  be  English  subjects,  or  at  any  rate  the 
greatest  part  of  them,  it  was  his  opinion  that  there 
was  a  sufficient  reason  for  seizing  the  vessel  if  she 
was  near  the  English  coast.  She  was  then  to  be 
brought  into  port  so  that,  if  she  could,  she  might 
prove  that  she  belonged  wholly  to  foreigners.  "  A 
British  subject,"  continued  the  opinion,  "being 
made  a  burgher  of  Ostend  does  not  thereby  cease 
to  be  a  subject.  Vessels  hovering  within  four 
leagues  of  the  British  coast,  with  an  illicit  cargo, 
as  that  of  this  vessel  appears  to  have  been,  are 
forfeited  w^hether  they  are  the  property  of  Britons 
or  foreigners." 

It  was  not  once  but  on  various  occasions  that 
the  Customs  Board  expressed  themselves  as  dis- 
satisfied with  the  amount  of  success  which  their 
cruisers  had  attained  in  respect  of  the  work  allotted 
to  them.  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1782  they 
referred  to  "  the  enormous  increase  of  smuggling, 
the  outrages  with  which  it  is  carried  on,  the  mis- 
chiefs it  occasions  to  the  country,  the  discour- 
agement it  creates  to  all  fair  traders,  and  the 
prodigious  loss  the  Revenue  sustains  by  it."  The 
Board  w^ent  on  to  state  that  "  difigent  and  vigorous 
exertions  by  the  cruising  vessels  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  Customs  certainly  might  very  much 
lessen  it."  The  Commissioners  expressed  them- 
selves as  dissatisfied  with  the  lack  of  success,  and 

128 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

ordered  that  the  officers  of  the  Waterguard  were 
especially  to  see  that  the  commander  and  mate  of 
every  Revenue  vessel  or  boat  bringing  in  a  seizure 
w^ere  actually  on  board  when  such  seizure  was 
made. 

A  few  days  later — the  date  is  January  16,  1788 
— the  Board,  having  received  information  that 
great  quantities  of  tobacco  and  spirits  were  about 
to  be  smuggled  in  from  France,  Flanders,  Guern- 
sey, and  Alderney,  warned  the  Preventive  officers 
of  the  various  ports,  and  directed  the  commanders 
of  the  Admiralty  cruisers,  which  happened  to  be 
stationed  near  the  ports,  to  be  especially  vigilant  to 
intercept  "these  attempts  of  the  illicit  dealers,  so 
that  the  Revenue  may  not  be  defrauded  in  those 
articles  to  the  alarming  degree  it  has  hitherto 
been."  And  the  officers  were  bluntly  told  that  if 
they  were  to  exert  themselves  in  guarding  the 
coast  night  and  day  such  fraudulent  practices 
could  not  be  carried  on  in  the  shameful  manner 
they  now  were.  "  And  though  the  Riding  officers 
may  not  always  have  it  in  their  power  to  seize  the 
goods  from  a  considerable  body  of  smugglers,  yet 
if  such  officers  were  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  on 
their  motions,  and  were  to  communicate  early 
information  thereof  to  the  Waterguard,  they  may 
thereby  render  essential  service  to  the  Revenue." 

When  the  soldiers  assisted  the  Revenue  officers 
in  making  seizures  on  shore  it  was  frequently  the 
case  that  the  military  had  difficulty  in  recovering 

129  I 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

from  the  Revenue  men  that  share  of  prize-money 
which  was  their  due.  The  Collector  of  each  port 
was  therefore  directed  in  future  to  retain  in  his 
hands  out  of  the  officers'  shares  of  seizures  so  much 
as  appeared  to  be  due  to  the  soldiers,  and  the 
names  of  the  latter  who  had  rendered  assistance 
were  to  be  inserted  in  the  account  of  the  seizures 
sent  up  to  headquarters.  But  the  jealousy  of  the 
military's  aid  somehow  never  altogether  died  out, 
and  ten  years  after  the  above  order  there  was  still 
delay  in  rendering  to  the  army  men  their  due 
share  of  the  seizures. 

The  commanders  of  the  Revenue  cruisers  were 
told  to  keep  an  especial  watch  on  the  homeward- 
bound  East  Indiamen  to  prevent  "  the  illicit 
practices  that  are  continually  attempted  to  be 
committed  from  them."  Therefore  these  cruisers 
were  not  only  to  watch  these  big  ships  through  the 
limits  of  their  own  station,  but  also  to  keep  as  near 
them  when  under  sail  as  possible,  provided  this 
can  be  done  with  safety  and  propriety.  But  when 
the  East  Indiamen  come  to  anchor  the  cruisers  are 
also  to  anchor  near  them,  and  compel  all  boats  and 
vessels  coming  from  them  to  bring-to  in  order  to 
be  examined.  They  are  "then  to  proceed  to 
rummage  such  boats  and  vessels.  And  if  any 
goods  are  found  therein  they  are  to  be  seized, 
together  with  the  boats  in  which  they  are  found." 
The  importance  of  this  very  plain  instruction  is 
explained  by  the  further  statement  that  "  some  of 

130 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

the  commanders  of  the  cruisers  in  the  service  of 
the  Revenue  endeavour  to  shun  these  ships,  and 
thereby  avoid  attending  them  through  their 
station." 

On  Christmas  Eve  of  1784  the  Customs  Com- 
missioners sent  word  to  all  the  ports  saying  that 
they  suspected  that  there  were  a  good  many  vessels 
and  boats  employed  in  smuggling  which  were  thus 
liable  to  forfeiture.  Therefore,  within  forty-eight 
hours  from  the  receipt  of  this  information  sent  by 
letter,  a  close  and  vigorous  search  was  to  be  made 
by  the  most  active  and  trusty  officers  at  each 
port  into  every  bay,  river,  creek,  and  inlet  within 
the  district  of  each  port,  as  well  as  all  along  the 
coast,  so  as  to  discover  and  seize  such  illegal  vessels 
and  boats.  And  if  there  were  any  boats  quartered 
within  the  neighbourhood  of  each  port,  timely 
notice  of  the  day  and  hour  of  the  intended  search 
was  to  be  sent  by  the  Collector  and  Controller  in 
confidence  to  the  commanding  officer  only,  that 
he  might  hold  his  soldiers  in  readiness.  Yet,  again 
the  Board  exhorted  the  Revenue  officers  "  to  exert 
yourselves  to  the  utmost  of  your  power  .... 
and  as  it  is  very  probable  that  the  places  where 
such  boats  and  vessels  are  kept  may  be  known  to 
the  officers  who  have  long  resided  at  your  port, 
you  are  to  acquaint  such  officers  that  if  they  value 
their  characters  or  employments,  or  have  any  re- 
gard   to   the    solemn    oath    they    took    at    their 

admission,  we  expect  they  will,  on  this  occasion, 

131 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

give  tlie  fullest  and  most  ample  information  of  all 
such  places,  and  will  cheerfully  afford  every  other 
aid  and  assistance  in  their  power,  to  the  end  that 
the  said  vessels  and  boats  may  be  discovered  and 
seized. 

"  And  to  prevent  them  from  being  launched 
into  the  water,  and  carried  off  by  the  smugglers 
after  seizure,  you  are  to  cause  one  of  the  streaks 
(  =  strakes)  or  planks  to  be  ripped  off  near  the 
keel,  taking  care  at  the  same  time  to  do  as  little 
other  injury  to  each  boat  as  possible." 

We  now  come  to  witness  the  reappearance  of 

an  old  friend  of  whom  we  last  made  mention  in 

the  North  Sea.     The  year  we  are  now  to  consider 

is    1788,    and    the    15th  of  July.     On   that    day 

H.M.  cutter  Kite  was  sailing  from   Beachy  Head 

to  the  westward.     She  passed   to  the  southward 

of  the  Isle  of  Wight  without  sighting  it,  as  the 

weather  was  thick.     Later  in  the  day  it  cleared 

as   they   got  near  to  the   Dorsetshire  coast,    and 

about  7.30  p.m.,  when  they  were  between  Peveril 

Point  (near  Swanage)  and  St.  Alban's  Head,  and 

it   was   clearer  and    still    not    night,    the    ship's 

surgeon  discovered  a  vessel   some   distance   away 

on   the    weather    bow.      The   weather   had    now 

cleared  so  much  that  the  house  on  the  top  of  St. 

Alban's  Head   was   quite   visible.      The   surgeon 

called  the  attention  of  a  midshipman  on  board  to 

the  strange  vessel.     The  midshipman,  whose  name 

was  Cornelius  Quinton,  took  a  bearing,  and  found 

132 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

that  the  stranger  bore  W.S.W.  from  the  cutter, 

and  was  steering  E.S.E.     He  also  took  a  bearing 

of  Peveril  Point,  which  bore  N.|W.,  and  judged 

the    smuggler  to   be   about  9  miles  from  Peveril 

Point.     About  8  o'clock  the  cutter  began  to  give 

chase,  and  this  continued  until  11  p.m.,  the  course 

being  now  S.E.     After  a  time  the  lugger  hauled 

up  a  point,  so  that  she  was  heading  S.E.  by  S.,  the 

wind  being  moderate  S.W.     During  the  chase  the 

lugger  did  her  best  to  get  away  from  the  cutter, 

and  set  her  main  topsail.     The  cutter  at  the  time 

was  reefed,  but  when  she  saw  the  lugger's  topsail 

going  up  she  shook  out  her  reefs  and  set  her  gaff 

topsail.     It  was  some  little  time  before  the  Kite 

had  made  up  her  mind  that  she  was   a  smuggler, 

for  at  first  she  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the  few 

Revenue    luggers  which    were    employed   in   the 

service.     About    11    o'clock,   then,   the   Kite  was 

fast  overhauling    her,    notwithstanding   that    the 

lugger,  by  luffing  up  that  extra  point,  came  more 

on  the  wind  and  so  increased  her  pace.     It  was  at 

first  a  cloudy  night — and  perhaps  that  may  have 

made  the  Kite's  skipper  a  little  nervous,   for   he 

could   hardly  need   to   be   reefed    in   a   moderate 

breeze— but  presently  the  sky  cleared. 

As  the  Kite  approached  she  hoisted  her  signals 

and  fired    a  musket  shot.     (As  there   is   a   good 

deal  of  confusion  existing  concerning  the  signals 

of  the  old  Revenue    cutters,    it  is   worth  noting 

that   although   it   was   night   these    signals    were 

133 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

displayed.     I   make  this  statement  on  the  unim- 
peachable sworn  evidence  of  the  Kites  crew,   so 
the  matter  cannot  be  questioned.)     But  in  spite 
of  these    signals,   which    every  seafaring   man   of 
that  time  knew  very  well  meant  that  the  pursued 
vessel  was  to  heave-to,  the  lugger   still  held  on 
and  took  no  notice.     After  that   the    Kite   con- 
tinued to  fire  several  times  from  her  swivel  guns. 
Later  still,  as  the  Kite  came  yet  closer,  the  latter 
hailed  her  and  requested  her  to  lower  her   sails, 
informing   her   at   the    same   time   that   she   was 
a  King's  cutter.     Still  the  lugger  paid  no  heed, 
so  the  cutter  now  fired  at  her  from  muskets.     It 
was   only   after  this  that  the   lugger,   seeing  her 
chance  of  escape  was  gone,  gave  up,  lowered  sail, 
wore  round,  and  came  under  the  Kites  stern.     The 
cutter  hoisted  out  a  boat,  the  midshipman  already 
mentioned  was   sent  aboard  the  lugger,   and  the 
latter's   master  was   brought  to   the   Kite^    when 
whom  should  they  find  to  be  their  prisoner  but 
David  Browning,  better  known  as  "  Smoker,"  of 
North  Sea  fame  ?     When  the  Kite's  captain  asked 
for  his  papers  "  Smoker  "  replied  that  he  had  no 
papers   but   a   bill   of  sale.     He   was    afterwards 
heard   to  remark  that  if  he  had  understood  the 
log   line   he   would   not   have    been    so   near   the 
land  as  he  was,  and  admitted  he  had   been  bound 
for  Flushing,  having  doubtless  just  landed  a  cargo 
on  the  beach. 

The    lugger   was    found    to    be    decked    and 
134 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

clinker-built  with  a  running  bowsprit  on  which  she 

set  a  jib.     Six  carriage  guns  were  also  found  on 

board,  mounted  on  her  deck.     Four  of  these  guns 

were  observed  to  be  loaded,  three  with  powder  and 

one  with  shot,  and  they  were  4-pounders.     After 

the  capture  was  made  the  two  vessels  lay  for  a  time 

hove-to  on  the  heaving  sea  under  the  star-specked 

sky.     The  lugger  was  then  put  in  charge  of  the 

midshipman   and   a   prize  crew  from  the    cutter, 

the  prisoners  being  of  course  taken  on  board  the 

Kite.     Both  lugger  and  cutter  then  let  draw  their 

sails,  and  set  a  course  N.E.  for  the  Isle  of  Wight 

until  2  A.M.     As  it  then  came  on  thick  the  vessels 

hove-to  until  daylight,  when  sail  was  made  again, 

the  lugger  being  sent  on  ahead  to  sound,   so  as 

to  see  how  near  they  were  approaching  the  Isle 

of   Wight.     Later  on  they  found  themselves   in 

12  fathoms  and  judged  themselves  to  be  near  the 

Owers.     Eventually,  having  steered  about  N.N.E. 

and  sighted  Chichester  Church  in  the  distance,  they 

went   about   and    stood   south,   the   wind   having 

veered    to    W.N.W.,    and    at    3.30    p.m.    let    go 

anchor    in     Spithead.      Browning    in    due    time 

appeared  in  Court,  and  a  verdict  was   given  for 

the  King,  so  that  at  last  this  celebrated  smuggler 

had  been  caught  after  many  an  exciting  chase. 

It    was    not    many  years    after    this    incident 

that  a  70-ton  cutter  named  the  Charming  Molly 

arrived  at  Portsmouth.     A  Customs  officer  went 

on   board    her    and    found   a   man    named    May, 

135 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

who  produced  the  key  of  the  spirit-room,  saying 
he  was  master  of  the  ship.  In  the  spirit-room 
the  Customs  officer  found  a  hogshead  of  gin 
containing  62  gallons.  JNIay  was  anxious  to  show 
that  this  was  quite  legitimate,  as  there  were  sixteen 
men  aboard  and  the  contents  of  this  cask  were  for 
their  use.  The  Customs  officer  now  inquired 
if  there  was  any  more  liquor  on  the  ship,  and 
May  replied  in  the  negative,  at  first.  The  officer 
then  said  he  would  search  the  cabin,  whereupon 
JNIay  added  that  there  was  a  small  cask  which 
he  had  picked  up  at  sea  and  had  kept  for  the 
crew's  use.  This  cask  was  found  in  May's  own 
state-room,  and  contained  about  three  gallons  of 
brandy,  though  it  was  capable  of  holding  another 
gallon  and  no  doubt  recently  had  so  done.  How- 
ever, IMay  now  said  that  that  was  the  entire 
lot,  and  there  was  not  a  drop  of  anything  else 
on  board.  Yet  again  the  officer  was  not  to  be 
put  off,  and  found  in  the  state-room  on  the 
larboard  side  a  place  that  was  locked.  May  then 
explained  that  this  locker  belonged  to  a  man 
named  Sheriff,  who  was  at  present  ashore,  and 
had  the  key  with  him.  However  JNIay  volunteered, 
if  the  officer  saw  fit,  to  open  it,  but  at  the  same 
time  assured  him  there  was  no  liquor  therein. 
The  officer  insisted  on  having  it  broken  open, 
when  there  were  discovered  two  new  liquor  cases 
containing  each  twelve  bottles  of  brandy,  making  in 

all  eight  gallons,  and  two  stone  bottles  of  brandy 

136 


CUTTERS   AND   SLOOPS 

containing  five  gallons.  Even  now  May  assured 
the  officer  that  he  had  no  more  in  the  ship, 
but  after  a  further  search  the  officer  found  twelve 
dozen  bottles  of  wine  in  a  locked  locker  in  the 
cabin. 

We  need  not  follow  this  case  any  further, 
but  as  a  fine  example  of  deliberate  lying  it  is 
hard  to  beat.  Throughout  the  exciting  career 
of  a  smuggler,  when  chased  or  captured,  in  run- 
ning goods  by  night  or  stealing  out  to  get  clear 
of  the  land  before  the  sun  came  up,  this  one 
quality  of  coolness  in  action  or  in  verbal  evasion 
ever  characterised  him.  He  was  so  frequently 
and  continuously  face  to  face  with  a  threatening 
episode  that  he  became  used  to  the  condition. 


137 


CHAPTER   VIII 

PREVENTIVE    ORGANISATION 

We  have  already  frequently  referred  to  the  Riding 
officers  who  were  attached  to  practically  all  the 
chief  ports  of  England.  For  the  reasons  already 
given  the  south-east  coast  had  especially  to  be 
well  provided  in  this  respect.  And,  because  of 
the  proximity  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  the  Solway 
Firth  had  also  to  be  protected  efficiently  by  these 
officers,  additional,  of  course,  to  the  aid  rendered 
by  the  cruisers.  Wales,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  left  practically  unprotected.  In  the  year 
1809  there  was  inaugurated  what  was  known 
as  the  Preventive  Waterguard  in  order  to  supple- 
ment the  endeavours  of  the  cruisers  and  Riding 
officers.  Under  this  arrangement  the  coast  of 
England  and  Wales  was  divided  into  three  dis- 
tricts, each  of  which  was  under  an  Inspecting 
Commander,  the  Revenue  cruisers  being  now  in- 
cluded in  the  Preventive  Waterguard. 

The  three  districts  with  the  three  Inspecting 
Commanders  were  as  follows  : — 

District  1. — Land's  End  to  the  Port  of  Carlisle 
inclusive.  Inspecting  Commander,  Captain  John 
Hopkins. 

138 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

District  2. — North  Foreland  to  Land's  End. 
Inspecting  Commander,  Captain  William  Blake. 

District  8. — North  Foreland  to  the  Port  of 
Berwick  inclusive.  Inspecting  Commander,  Cap- 
tain John  Sayers,  "whose  duty  it  is  constantly 
to  watch,  inspect,  and  report  to  us  [the  Customs 
Board]  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Commanders  of 
Cruisers  and  the  Sitters  of  Preventive  Boats  along 
the  district." 

For  it  was  because  they  required  a  more 
effectual  control  and  inspection  of  the  officers 
employed  in  preventing  and  detecting  smuggling 
that  this  fresh  organisation  was  made.  Certain 
stations  were  also  allotted  to  the  commanders 
of  the  cruisers,  within  each  district — two  to  each 
station — and  the  stations  and  limits  were  also 
appointed  for  Preventive  boats.  The  "sitters" 
of  the  Preventive  boats  were  those  who  sat  in 
the  stern  of  these  open,  rowed  craft  and  acted 
in  command  of  them.  The  Collector  and  Con- 
troller were  also  addressed  in  the  following  terms, 
which  showed  that  the  Board  were  still  doing 
their  utmost  to  rid  the  service  of  the  inefficiency 
and  negligence  to  which  we  have  had  occasion 
to  draw  attention.  "You  are  to  observe,"  wrote 
the  Commissioners,  "that  one  material  object 
of  the  duty  imposed  upon  the  Inspecting  Com- 
manders is  to  see  that  the  cruisers  are  constantly 
and  regularly  on  their  stations,  unless  prevented 

by    some   necessary   and    unavoidable   cause,  and 

139 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

witli  their  proper  complements  of  men  and  boats, 
and  if  they  are  off  their  station  or  in  port  person- 
ally to  examine  into  the  occasion  of  their  being 
so,  and  that  they  are  absent  from  their  station 
no  longer  than  is  essentially  requisite." 

At  the  end  of  every  year  the  Inspecting 
Commanders  were  to  lay  before  the  Board  of 
Customs  the  conduct  of  the  several  officers  within 
their  district  and  the  state  in  which  smuggling 
then  was,  and  "  whether  on  the  progress  or  decline, 
in  what  articles,  and  at  what  places  carried  on." 
For  the  Board  was  determined  "  to  probe  the 
conduct  of  the  Preventive  officers  and  punish 
them "  for  any  laxity  and  negligence,  for  which 
faults  alone  they  would  be  dismissed.  And  in 
order  that  the  vigilance  and  faithful  duty  in 
the  commanders  and  officers  on  board  the  cruisers 
"  may  not  be  deprived  of  fair  and  due  reward " 
their  rate  of  pay  was  now  increased,  together  with 
some  addition  made  to  the  allowance  for  victual- 
ling, "  and  also  to  provide  for  the  certainty  of  an 
annual  emolument  to  a  fixed  amount  in  respect 
to  the  commanders  and  mates,  by  the  following 
regulations  " : — 

Inspecting  Cruisers 

Commander,  each  per  annum,  £200  to  be  made  up  to 

£500  net. 
1st  Mates,  each  per  annum,  £75  to  be    made  up  to 

£150  net. 
2nd  Mates,  each  per  annum,  £50  to  be  made  up  to 

£75  net. 

140 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

But  these  increases  were  conditional  on  their 
salaries,  shares  of  seizures  and  penalties,  and  all 
other  emoluments  of  that  description  not  having 
amounted  to  the  salaries  now  offered.  The  de- 
puted mariners  were  to  have  £5  or  £3  each, 
per  lunar  month.  Mariners  who  had  no  deputation 
were  to  have  £3  a  month,  boys  on  the  cruisers 
£10  per  annum.  As  to  victualling,  the  com- 
manders and  mates  were  to  have  3s.  each  per 
diem,  mariners  Is.  6d.  each  per  diem.  Fire  and 
candle  for  each  person  were  to  be  allowed  for 
at  the  rate  of  Is.  6d.  per  lunar  month. 

Under  each  Inspecting  Commander  were  to  be 

two  tenders  in  each  district,  and  the  mates  who 

were    acting    as    commanders    of   these    were   to 

have   their  existing   £75   a   year   raised   to   £150 

net  in   case  their  salaries,  shares  of  seizures,  and 

other  emoluments  of  that  description  should  not 

amount  to  these  sums.    Deputed  mariners,  mariners, 

boys,  victualling,  fire,  and  candle  were  all  to  be 

paid   for  just   as   in   the   case   of  the   inspecting 

cruisers  above  mentioned.     This  was  to  date  from 

October    10,  1809.     A   few    months   later   a  like 

improvement  was  made  in  the  salaries  of  cruisers 

in  general,  for   from   the    5th    of  January   1810, 

commanders   of  these   were   to  have  their   £100 

per  annum  raised  to  £250  net — the  above  conditions 

"  in    case   their    salaries,  shares   of   seizures,   &c." 

did  not   make   up   this   amount   being   also   here 

prevalent — whilst   first   mates  were   to  be   raised 

141 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

from  £00  to   £100  net.     If   second    mates   were 

carried  they  were  to  have  £50  per  annum,  deputed 

mariners  £5   per  annum  and   £2,   10s.   per  lunar 

month.     Mariners  were  to  have  £2,  10s.  per  lunar 

month  each,  boys  £10  per  annum.      VictualUng, 

fire,  and  candle  to  be  as  already  stated. 

The   early    years   of  the    nineteenth    century 

showed    that   the    evil    of  the    previous   hundred 

years    was    far    from    dead.      The    Collector    at 

Plymouth,  writing  to  the  Board  three  days  before 

Christmas  of  1804,  reported  that  there  was  a  good 

deal  of  smuggling  done,  but  that  the  worst  places 

in   his   neighbourhood   were   two.     Firstly,  there 

was  that  district  which  is  embraced  by  Bigbur}^ 

the  Yealm,  and    Cawsand.     In  that   locality  the 

smuggling   was    done   in   vessels   of  from    2,5    to 

70  tons.     But  in  summer  time  the  trade  was  also 

carried  on  by  open   spritsail   boats  of  from  eight 

to  ten  tons.     These  craft  used  to  run  across  from 

Guernsey  loaded  with  spirits  in  small  casks.     Up 

the   river  Yealm   (just  to  the  east  of  Plymouth 

Sound)    and   at   Cawsand    Bay    the    goods    were 

wont    to    be    run    by    being    rafted    together    at 

some    distance    from    the    sliore    and   afterwards 

"  crept "  up  {i.e.  by  means  of  metal  creepers  or 

grapnels).     The    local   smugglers    would    go    out 

in    their    boats   at   low   water    during    the   night 

when    the    weather    and     the    absence    of    the 

cruisers  permitted  and  bring  to  land  their  booty. 

It  appeared   that    17,000    small    casks    of   spirits 

142 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

were  annually  smuggled  into  Cawsand  and  the 
Yealm. 

Secondly,  the  district  to  the  west  of  Plymouth 
embracing  Polperro  and  Mevagissey.  The  smug- 
gling craft  which  brought  goods  to  this  locality 
were  fast  sailers  of  from  80  to  100  tons.  But 
the  goods  which  came  into  the  general  district 
of  Plymouth  were  not  carried  far  inland.  Those 
whose  work  it  was  to  carry  the  goods  after  being 
landed  were  known  as  "porters,"  and  were  so 
accustomed  to  this  heavy  work  that  they  could 
carry  a  cask  of  spirits  six  miles  across  the  country 
at  a  good  rate.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
these  casks  were  made  necessarily  strong  of  stout 
wood,  that  they  contained  each  from  5  to 
7f  gallons,  making  a  total  weight  of  from  70  to 
100  lbs.  at  least,  we  can  realise  something  of  the 
rude  physical  strength  possessed  by  these  men. 

During  this  same  year  the  Collector  at  Dart- 
mouth also  reported  that  smuggling  had  increased 
a  good  deal  recently  in  the  counties  of  Devon 
and  Cornwall.  The  cutters  and  luggers  from 
Guernsey  carried  their  cargoes  consisting  of  from 
400  to  800  ankers  of  spirits  each,  with  a  few  casks 
of  port  and  sherry  for  the  wealthier  classes,  who 
winked  at  the  illicit  trade,  and  some  small  bales 
of  tobacco.  During  the  summer  the  goods  were 
landed  on  the  north  side  of  Cornwall,  between 
Land's  End  and  Hartland  Point,  and  thence  dis- 
tributed by  coasters  to  Wales  and  the  ports  of  the 

143 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Bristol  Channel,  or  carried  inland  on  the  backs  of 
twenty  or  thirty  horses,  protected  by  a  strong 
guard.  Hut  in  the  winter  the  goods  were  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  Bristol  Channel,  the  farmers 
cominfif  down  with  horses  and  carts  to  fetch  the 
goods,  which  were  subsequently  lodged  in  barns 
and  caves.  Clovelly,  Bideford,  Combe  Martin,  and 
Porlock  were  especially  notorious  in  this  connec- 
tion. These  goods  were  also  regularly  conveyed 
across  Exmoor  into  Somersetshire,  and  other  goods 
found  a  way  into  Barnstable.  Coasters  on  a 
voyage  from  one  part  of  England  to  another 
frequently  broke  their  voyages  and  ran  over 
to  Guernsey  to  get  contraband.  The  Island  of 
Lundy  was  a  favourite  smuggling  depot  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  From  Ireland  a  good  deal  of 
salt  was  smuggled  into  Devonshire  and  Cornwall, 
the  high  duties  making  the  venture  a  very  profit- 
able one — specially  large  cargoes  of  this  commodity 
being  landed  near  to  Hartland  Point.  And  this 
Dartmouth  Collector  made  the  usual  complaint 
that  the  Revenue  cruisers  of  that  period  were 
easily  outsailed  by  the  smugglers. 

The  reader  will  recollect  those  regrettable 
incidents  on  the  North  Sea  belonging  to  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  we  had  to  chronicle 
the  names  of  Captains  Mitchell  and  White- 
head in  that  connection.  Unhappily  there  were 
occasional  repetitions  of  these  in  the  early  part  of 

the  nineteenth  century  on  the  south   coast.      It 

144 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

happened  that  on  the  19th  of  March  in  the  year 
1807  the  Swan  Revenue  cutter,  a  vessel  of  con- 
siderable size  (for  she  had  a  burthen  of  154  tons, 
a  crew  of  twenty-three  men,  and  was  armed 
with  twelve  4-pounders,  two  9-pounders,  and  a 
chest  of  small  arms)  was  cruising  in  the  English 
Channel  and  found  herself  off  Swanage.  It  should 
be  added  that  at  that  time  there  was  a  kind  of 
volunteer  Preventive  Guard  at  various  places 
along  the  coast,  which  was  known  as  the  "  Sea 
Fencibles."  The  Swanage  "  Fencibles  "  informed 
Mr.  Comben,  the  cruiser's  commander,  that  there 
were  three  luggers  hovering  off  the  coast,  and 
these  volunteers  offered  a  number  of  their  men 
to  reinforce  the  Swans  crew  so  that  the  luggers 
might  be  captured.  To  this  Comben  replied  with 
a  damper  to  the  volunteers'  enthusiasm :  "  If  I 
was  to  take  them  on  board  and  fall  in  with  the 
enemy  we  could  not  do  anything  with  them." 

So  the  Swan  sailed  away  from  Swanage  Bay 
to  the  eastward  and  at  midnight  made  the 
Needles.  It  now  fell  calm,  but  the  luggers  hove 
in  sight  and  approached  by  means  of  their  sweeps. 
As  they  came  on,  the  cutter,  instead  of  preparing 
to  receive  them  in  the  only  way  they  deserved,  did 
nothing.  But  one  of  the  Swan's  crew,  whose 
name,  Edward  Bartlett,  deserves  to  be  remembered 
for  doing  his  duty,  asked  Comben  if  he  should 
fetch  the  grape  and  canister  from  below.  Comben 
merely  replied  :  *'  There  is  more  in  the  cabin  than 

145  K 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

we  shall  want :  it  will  be  of  no  use  ;  it  is  all  over 
with  us."  Such  was  the  attitude  of  one  who  had 
signed  into  a  service  for  the  prevention  of  smug- 
gling craft.  Instead  of  taking  any  definite  action 
he  waited  despairingly  for  the  enemy  to  come  on. 
He  then  issued  no  orders  to  his  crew  to  prepare 
to  engage ;  he  just  did  nothing  and  remained  in- 
active under  the  white  cliffs.  But  if  their  com- 
mander was  a  coward,  at  any  rate  his  crew  were 
determined  to  make  a  contest  of  it.  They  had 
actually  to  urge  him  to  fight,  but  the  luggers  were 
right  close  on  to  the  cutter  before  Comben  had 
given  the  word.  After  that  for  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  the  crew  fought  the  ship,  and  were 
at  their  respective  quarters  when  Comben  actually 
turned  to  the  luggers  and  shouted  to  them : 
"Leave  off  firing;  I  have  struck."  During  the 
engagement  he  had  shown  great  signs  of  fear  and 
never  encouraged  his  crew  to  fight. 

Seeing  that  they  were  led  by  a  coward,  the 
Swans  crew  also  took  fright  and  thought  it  best 
to  flee.  They  therefore  jumped  into  the  cutter's 
boats  and  rowed  ashore,  leaving  their  valiant  com- 
mander to  look  after  the  Sivan  as  best  he  might. 
She  was  of  course  immediately  captured  by  the  lug- 
gers, and  as  for  Comben,  he  was  taken  prisoner, 
carried  to  France,  detained  there,  and  did  not  return 
to  England  till  after  seven  years,  when  an  investiga- 
tion was  made  into  his  conduct  by  the  Surveyors- 
General  of  the  Customs,  his  defence  being  that 

146 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

"his  men  had  deserted  him."  As  for  the  latter, 
they  reached  the  shore  safely  and  were  again 
employed  in  the  Preventive  Service. 

It  is  quite  clear  that  the  Customs  Board  some- 
times lent  their  cutters  to  the  Admiralty ;  and 
there  is  a  letter  dated  October  10,  1809,  from  the 
Admiralty,  in  v^^hich  permission  is  given  for  the 
cutters  in  the  service  of  that  Revenue  to  be 
released  from  their  station  at  Flushing  under  the 
command  of  Rear-x\dmiral  Sir  Richard  Strachan, 
and  there  is  also  a  Customs  House  minute  of 
July  7,  1806,  to  the  effect  that  the  Sivan  and 
Hound  Revenue  cutters  might  be  placed  under 
the  orders  of  Lord  Keith  in  the  room  of  the  Stag 
and  Swalloiv,  for  use  at  Cowes  and  Shoreliam, 
where  these  cruisers  were  to  be  stationed.  And 
it  was  in  this  same  year  that  the  Board  again 
emphasized  the  importance  of  the  Revenue  Service 
being  supported  by  the  Navy  and  Army,  and  that 
to  this  end  the  most  effectual  encouragement 
should  be  held  out  to  both  branches,  so  that  they 
might  co-operate  vigorously  in  the  suppression  of 
smuggling.  They  further  expressed  themselves 
as  of  the  opinion  that  "  nothing  will  more  effectu- 
ally tend  to  encourage  them  to  exert  themselves 
than  the  certainty  of  receiving  a  speedy  reward." 
And  yet,  again,  were  the  Revenue  officers  enjoined 
"to  be  particularly  careful  to  secure  the  men 
employed  in  smuggling  vessels  whenever  it  may 

be  possible  to  effect  it,  as  their  lordships  have  the 

147 


KING'S    CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

strongest  reasons  for  believing  that  the  apprehen- 
sion of  being  detained  and  impressed  into  his 
Majesty's  service  will  have  a  great  effect  in  deter- 
ring the  persons  engaged  in  these  illegal  pursuits 
from  continuing  their  pernicious  habits." 

It  was  also  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Customs 
officers  to  attend  to  the  Quarantine,  and  the 
Customs  Roard  resolved  "  that  it  is  fit  to  direct 
a  distinguishing  flag  to  be  used  on  board  all 
boats  employed  in  the  Quarantine  service."  At 
Sandgate  Creek,  Portsmouth,  Falmouth,  Bristol, 
Milford,  Hull,  Liverpool  and  Plymouth,  by  the 
advice  of  the  Surveyor  for  Sloops,  a  flag  was  de- 
posited in  the  Custom  House  at  every  port  of  the 
kingdom,  and  it  was  resolved  that  in  the  above 
ports  there  should  be  two,  except  Plymouth,  which 
should  have  three.  Cruisers  were  also  employed 
in  the  Quarantine  Service. 

AVe  have  already  seen  something  of  the  con- 
ditions of  service  and  the  pay  of  the  cruisers'  crews. 
He  who  was  responsible  for  the  upkeep  and  super- 
vision of  these  cruisers  was  known  as  the  Surveyor 
for  Sloops.  For  some  time  the  Customs  Board 
had  been  deliberating  as  to  the  adoption  of  some 
regulations  for  ascertaining  the  qualifications  of 
those  who  desired  to  be  commanders  and  mates 
of  the  cruisers.  That  some  improvement  was 
essential  must  already  have  been  made  clear  to  the 
reader  from  the  type  of  men  who  sometimes  were 

placed   in   such  positions   of  responsibility.      The 

148 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

following  regulations  were  therefore  adopted  in 
the  year  1807,  "  which  appear  to  the  Commissioners 
highly  necessary  for  the  safe  conduct  of  the  Service, 
as  also  for  the  safety  of  the  vessels  and  crews 
committed  to  their  charge."  They  resolved  accord- 
ingly :— 

"  That  all  persons  who  shall  be  hereafter 
nominated  to  the  situation  of  Commander  or 
Mate  of  a  Cruiser  in  the  service  of  this  Revenue, 
do  attend  the  Surveyor  of  Sloops,  &c.  in  London 
for  the  purpose  of  being  examined  on  the  several 
points  submitted  in  the  report  of  the  said  Surveyor, 
as  essential  for  the  qualification  of  officers  of  that 
description,  namely,  whether  he  understand  navi- 
gation, is  competent  to  lay  off  and  ascertain  courses 
and  distances  on  the  charts,  can  work  a  day's  work 
and  find  the  time  of  high  and  low  water  in  any 
port  of  great  Britain,  and  understand  the  use  of 
a  quadrant." 

It  was  also  further  resolved  : — 

"  That  no  person  be  admitted  to  either  of  those 

situations  who  shall  not  be  certified  by  the  said 

Surveyors  to  be  fully  qualified  in  the  particulars 

above  referred  to,  which  certificate  is  to  be  laid 

before  the  Board  for  their  consideration,  whether  in 

case   such   person  does  not  possess  a   competent 

knowledge   of  the   coast   on   which    he   is   to  be 

stationed,  or  is  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 

sailing  and  management  of  cutters   and   luggers 

tho'    generally    qualified,   it    may  not   be    fit    to 

149 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

direct  him  to  repiiir  on  board  some  cruiser,  whose 
station  is  contiguous  to  that  to  which  he  is 
nominated,  and  cruise  in  such  vessel  for  the  space 
of  one  montli,  or  until  the  commander  thereof 
shall  certify  that  he  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
that  part  of  the  coast,  and  also  be  fully  competent 
to  take  charge  of  a  cutter,  or  lugger,  as  the  case 
may  be,  such  a  certificate  to  be  referred  to  the 
Surveyor  for  Sloops,  &c.  for  his  report  previous  to 
such  commander's  or  mate's  commission  being 
ordered  to  be  made  out."  And  the  commanders 
of  the  cutters  who  shall  be  ordered  to  instruct  such 
persons  are  to  be  acquainted  that  they  are  at 
liberty  to  crave  the  extra  expense  they  shall  incur 
for  victualling  such  persons  for  the  Board's  con- 
sideration. 

"  And  the  Surveyor  for  Sloops,  kc.  is  to  report 
more  particularly  the  nature  and  objects  of  enquiry 
as  to  the  qualification  of  persons  nominated  Sitters 
of  Boats  and  by  what  officers  in  the  outports  those 
enquiries  are  made  and  the  qualification  of  such 
persons  certified :  for  the  Commissioners'  further 
consideration,  as  to  any  additional  regulations  in 
respect  of  persons  so  nominated." 

It  was,  no  doubt,  because  of  such  incidents  as 

those  which  we  have  seen  occurring  in  the  Channel 

and  North  Sea  that  the  Commissioners  tightened 

up  the  regulations  in  the  above  manner.     That 

these  incidents  were  not  confined  to  any  particular 

locality  let  us  show  by  the  two  following  examples. 

150 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

The  first  had  reference  to  William  Horn,  the 
Deputed  Mariner  and  Acting  Mate  of  the  Revenue 
cutter  Greyhound, y^hose  station  was  at  Weymouth. 
On  the  5th  of  March  1806  he  was  in  charge  of 
the  cutter  whilst  on  a  cruise  to  the  westward.  Off 
Portland  the  cutter  fell  in  with  a  French  lugger, 
which  was  a  privateer.  Horn  gave  chase,  gradually 
overhauled  her,  and  even  came  up  with  her.  For  a 
time  he  also  engaged  her,  but  because  he  subse- 
quently gave  up  the  fight,  bore  up  and  quitted  her, 
allowing  the  privateer  to  escape,  he  was  deemed 
guilty  by  the  Customs  Board  of  not  having  used 
his  utmost  endeavours  to  effect  a  capture,  and  was 
ordered  to  be  superseded. 

The  second  incident  was  of  a  slightly  more 
complicated  nature,  and  occurred  on  October  20, 
1805,  about  midnight.  The  two  men  implicated 
were  a  Captain  Riches,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  Revenue  cutter  Hunter,  and  his  mate  Oliver. 

This  vessel,  whose  station  was  Great  Yarmouth, 

was  on  the  night  mentioned  cruising  in  the  North 

Sea.     Presently  the  cutter   sighted   what  turned 

out  to  be  the  Danish  merchant  ship,  The  Three 

Sisters,  Fredric  Carlssens  master,  from  Copenhagen 

bound  for   St.    Thomas's  and    St.   Croix.     Oliver 

got  into  the  cutter's  boat  and  boarded  the  Dane. 

He   also   demanded    from    the    latter    and    took 

from  him  four  cases  of  foreign  Geneva,  which  was 

part   of    The  Three  Sisters'   cargo.     In   spite   of 

Carlssen's   opposition,   Oliver   put   these   into   his 

151 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

boat  and  rowed  off  with  them  to  the  Hunter. 
Riches  was  obviously  party  to  this  transaction,  and 
was  accused  "that  contrary  to  the  solemn  oath 
taken  at  his  admission  into  office,  he  did  not  only 
neglect  to  report  to  the  Collector  and  Controller 
of  Yarmouth  or  to  the  Board  the  misconduct  of 
his  JMate,  in  unlawfully  taking  from  the  said  ship 
the  four  cases  of  Geneva  in  question,  but  did  take 
out  of  them  for  his  own  use,  and  by  so  doing  did 
connive  at  and  sanction  the  aforesaid  unproper 
conduct  of  his  Mate."  It  was  also  brought  against 
Riches  that  he  had  not  entered  any  account  of 
this  incident  into  his  ship's  journal,  or  made  any 
record  of  the  mate  boarding  the  Dane. 

In  the  end  Riches  was  adjudged  by  the  Board 
guilty  of  not  giving  information  regarding  his 
mate's  conduct  and  of  receiving  one  case  of 
Geneva  for  his  own  use,  but  he  was  acquitted 
of  connivance  for  want  of  evidence.  He  was 
found  guilty  also  of  not  having  entered  the  in- 
cident in  his  journal.  Oliver  was  acquitted  of 
having  boarded  the  Danish  ship  for  want  of  proof, 
but  found  guilty  of  having  failed  to  keep  a 
complete  journal  of  his  proceedings.  But  a  further 
charge  was  made  that  Riches  caused  a  case  of 
foreign  spirits,  which  had  been  taken  out  of  the 
Danish  ship,  to  be  brought  ashore  from  the  cutter 
and  taken  to  his  home  at  Yarmouth  without 
paying  the  duty  thereon.  Oliver  was  also  ac- 
cused of  a  similar  crime  with  regard  to  two  cases. 

152 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

Riches  was  acquitted  for  want  of  proof  of  having 
caused  the  gin  to  be  taken  to  his  house,  but 
found  guilty  of  having  received  it,  knowing  the 
duty  had  not  been  paid.  Oliver  was  also  found 
guilty,  and  both  were  accordingly  dismissed. 

And  there  was  the  case  of  a  man  named 
Thomas  Rouse,  who  was  accused  of  having  been 
privy  to  the  landing  of  a  number  of  large  casks 
of  spirits  and  other  goods  from  a  brig  then  lying 
off  the  Watch-house  at  Folkestone.  This  was 
on  the  night  of  May  20  and  the  early  hours  of 
May  21,  1806.  He  was  further  accused  of  being 
either  in  collusion  with  the  smugglers  in  that 
transaction  or  criminally  negligent  in  not  pre- 
venting the  same.  It  was  still  further  brought 
against  him  that  he  had  not  stopped  and  detained 
the  master  of  the  brig  after  going  on  board, 
although  the  master  was  actually  pointed  out 
to  him  by  a  boat's  crew  belonging  to  the  Nimble 
Revenue  cutter.  Rouse  was  found  guilty  of  the 
criminal  negligence  and  ordered  to  be  dismissed. 
And,  in  addition,  the  chief  boatmen,  five  boat- 
men, and  two  riding-officers  of  the  Preventive 
Service  at  that  port  were  also  dismissed  for  failing 
to  do  their  utmost  to  prevent  this  smuggling, 
which  had,  in  fact,  been  done  collusively.  Those 
were  certainly  anxious  times  for  the  Customs 
Commissioners,  and  we  cannot  but  feel  for  them 
in  their  difficulties.     On  the  one  hand,  they  had 

to  wrestle  with  an  evil  that  was  national  in  its 

153 


KIXG^   CLTTEKS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

import^&nce,  while  on  the  other  they  had  s  service 
that  iras  amything  but  incc»Tuptible,  and  required 
the  utnxkst  vigilance  to  cause  it  to  be  instant 
in  its  eleaaentary  duties^ 

Que  c^  the  lefbnns  leccxmneDded  towards  the 
eod  of  1809  had  r^erence  to  the  supply  of  stores 
and  the  building  and  repairing  of  Custom  House 
boats  in  Ixmdfxi.  The  object  aimed  at  was  to 
obtain  a  moie  complete  check  on  the  quantities 
and  quality  d  tibe  stoies  required  for  cruisers  and 
Preventrre  boats.  And  the  example  of  the  out- 
pcnrts  was  acocMndin^y  adc^ted  that,  when  articles 
were  required  for  these  craft  that  were  of  any 
Talue,  the  Collector  and  CcmtroUer  of  the  particular 
port  first  sent  estimates  to  the  Board,  and  per- 
misskm  was  not  ^owed  until  the  Surveyor  of 
S^rvrs  had  certified  that  the  estimates  were 
.":lr-  Xor  were  the  bills  paid  until  both 
--r  ..mmanQer  and  mate  of  the  cruiser,  or  else 
thr  Tide  Surveyor  or  the  Sitter  of  the  Boat,  as 
-^e  might  be,  had  certified  that  the  work 
was  properly  carried  ouL  And  the  same  rule 
the  supply  of  coidage  and  to  the  carry- 
— ^  -  _-     :  -r^airs. 

As  x)ks  through  the  old  records  of  the 

Cu^  ...    :-      >e  cMie  finds  that  a  Revalue  officer 

3f  yielding  to   bribery,  who 

-    "igilant  in  his  duty,  pos- 

— "  _.  r       -  jiitiative,  and  was  favoured 

with  even  moderate  luck,  could  certainlv  rely  on 

154 


PREVENTIVE   ORGANISATION 

a  fair  income  from  his  activities.  In  the  year  we 
are  speaking  of,  for  instance,  Thomas  Stor}%  one 
of  the  Revenue  officers  petitioned  to  be  paid  his 
share  of  the  penalty  recovered  from  WilHam 
Lambert  and  AViUiam  Taylor  for  smugghng,  and 
he  was  accordingly  awarded  the  sum  of  £1G2,  2s. 
It  was  at  this  time  also  that  the  salaries  of  the 
Collectors,  Controllers,  and  Landing  Surveyors  of 
the  outports  were  increased  so  that  the  Collectors 
were  to  receive  not  less  than  £l50  per  annum, 
the  Controller  not  less  than  £120,  and  the  Landing 
Surv^eyor  not  less  than  £100.  And  in  addition 
to  this,  of  course,  there  were  their  shares  in  any 
seizures  that  might  be  made.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, the  Revenue  officers  suffered  not  from  negli- 
gence but  from  excess  of  zeal,  as,  for  instance, 
on  that  occasion  when  they  espied  a  rowing-boat 
containing  a  couple  of  seafaring  men  approach 
and  land  on  the  beach  at  Eastbourne.  The 
Revenue  officials  made  quite  certain  that  these 
w^ere  a  couple  of  smugglers  and  seized  their  boat. 
But  it  was  subsequently  discovered  that  they 
were  just  two  Portuguese  sailors  who  had  escaped 
from  Dieppe  and  rowed  all  the  way  across  the 
Channel.  The  Admiralty  interfered  in  the  matter 
and  requested  the  release  of  the  boat,  which  was 
presently  made.  But  two  other  Revenue  officers, 
named  respectively  Tahourdin  and  Savery,  in 
August  of  1809  had  much  better  luck  when  they 

were    able   to   make    a    seizure   that    was   highly 

155 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND    SMUGGLERS 

profitable.  AVe  have  already  referred  to  the  con- 
siderable exportation  which  went  on  from  this 
country  in  specie  and  the  national  danger  which 
this  represented.  In  the  present  instance  these 
two  officials  were  able  to  seize  a  large  quantity 
of  coin  consisting  of  guineas,  half  guineas,  and 
seven  shilling  pieces,  which  w^ere  being  illegally 
transported  out  of  the  kingdom.  When  this 
amount  came  to  be  reckoned  up  it  totalled  the 
sum  of  £10,812,  14s.  6d.,  so  that  their  share  must 
have  run  into  very  high  figures. 


156 


CHAPTER  IX 

CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

In  an  earlier  chapter  we  quoted  from  Marryat  a 
passage  which  showed  that  the  mariners  of  a 
Revenue  cutter  were  dressed  in  red  flannel  shirts 
and  blue  trousers,  and  also  wore  canvas  or  tar- 
paulin petticoats.  The  reason  for  the  last- 
mentioned  was  appreciated  by  smuggler  and 
Preventive  men  alike,  and  if  you  have  ever 
noticed  the  Thames  River  Police  dodging  about  in 
their  small  craft  you  will  have  noticed  that  at  any 
rate  the  steersman  has  in  cold  weather  some  sort 
of  apron  wrapped  round  his  legs.  But  in  the 
period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking  the  attached 
apron  or  petticoat  was  very  useful  for  keeping  the 
body  warm  in  all  weather,  especially  when  the 
sitter  of  the  Preventive  boat  had  to  be  rowed  out 
perhaps  in  the  teeth  of  a  biting  wind,  for  several 
miles  at  night.  And  the  smugglers  found  their  task 
of  landing  tubs  through  the  surf  a  wet  job,  so  they 
were  equally  glad  of  this  additional  protection.^ 

^  The  use  of  the  petticoat  as  a  seaman's  article  of  attire  dates  back 
to  the  time  of  Chaucer  : 

"A  Shipman  was  ther,  woning  fer  by  weste  : 
For  aught  I  woot,  he  was  of  Dertemouthe. 
He  rood  up-on  a  rouncy,  as  he  couthe, 
In  a  gowne  of  falding  to  the  knee." 
''Falding"  was  a  coarse  cloth. 

157 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

The  period  to  which  Marryat  referred  was  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  As  to  the  uniform 
of  the  Revenue  officers  we  have  the  following 
evidence.  Among  the  General  Letters  of  the 
Customs  Board  was  one  dated  June  26,  1804,  from 
which  it  is  seen  that  the  commanders  of  the 
cruisers  petitioned  the  Board  for  an  alteration  in 
their  uniform  and  that  also  of  the  mates,  this 
alteration  to  be  made  at  the  expense  of  the 
officers.  The  commanders  suggested  for  their  own 
dress : — 

"  A  silver  epaulette,  the  button-holes  worked 
or  bound  with  silver  twist  or  lace,  side-arms,  and 
cocked  hats  with  cockades,  and  the  buttons  set  on 
the  coat  three  and  three,  the  breeches  and  waist- 
coats as  usual : 

"  For  the  undress,  the  same  as  at  present. 

"  For  the  mates,  the  addition  of  lappels,  the 
buttons  set  on  two  and  two,  and  cocked  hats  with 
cockades." 

The  Board  consented  to  these  alterations  with 
the  exception  of  the  epaulettes,  "  the  adoption  of 
which  we  do  not  approve,  lest  the  same  should 
interfere  with  His  Majesty's  Naval  Service." 
Now  in  reading  this,  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind 
that  between  the  Revenue  and  Navy  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  jealousy.^  It  went  so  far,  at  least  on 
one  occasion,  as  to  cause  a  Naval  officer  to  go 
on  board  a  Revenue  cutter  and  haul  the  latter's 

*  See  Appendix  VIII. 
158 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

flag  down.  The  reason  these  epaulettes  were 
disallowed  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  only  nine  years  before  the  above  date  that 
epaulettes  had  become  uniform  in  the  Navy,  for 
notwithstanding  that  epaulettes  had  been  worn  by 
officers  since  1780,  yet  they  were  not  uniform  until 
1795,  although  they  were  already  uniform  in  the 
French  and  Spanish  navies.^  Since,  therefore, 
these  adornments  had  been  so  recently  introduced 
into  the  Navy,  it  was  but  natural  that  with  so 
much  jealousy  existing  this  feature  should  not  be 
introduced  into  the  Revenue  service.  Just  what 
"  the  undress,  the  same  as  at  present "  was  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discover,  but  in  the  Royal  Navy 
of  that  time  the  undress  uniform  for  a  captain  of 
three  years'  post  consisted  of  a  blue  coat,  which  was 
white-lined,  with  blue  lappels  and  cuffs,  a  fall- 
down  collar,  gold-laced  button-holes,  square  at 
both  ends,  arranged  regularly  on  the  lappels.  For 
a  captain  under  three  years  the  uniform  was  the 
same,  except  that  the  nine  buttons  were  arranged 
on  the  lappels  in  threes.  For  master  or  com- 
mander it  was  the  same,  except  that  the  button- 
holes were  arranged  by  twos.^ 

It  was  in  January  1807  that  the  Customs 
Board  took  into  consideration  the  appointment  of 
several  Revenue  cruisers  and  the  expediency  of 
one  general  system  for  manning  them  according 

'  See  Captain  Robinson's,  The  British  Fleet,  p.  503. 
"  Ibid.,  !>.  502. 

159 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

to  the  tonnage  and  construction  of  the  vessel,  the 
service  and  station  on  which  she  was  to  be  em- 
ployed. They  therefore  distinctly  classed  the 
different  cruisers  according  to  their  tonnage,  de- 
scription, and  number  of  men  originally  allowed 
and  since  added,  whether  furnished  with  letters  of 
marque  or  not.  And  believing  that  it  would  be 
beneficial  to  the  service  that  the  complement  of 
men  should  be  fixed  at  the  highest  number  then 
allotted  to  cutters  in  each  respective  class,  they 
accordingly  instructed  the  commanders  of  the 
different  cruisers  to  increase  their  respective  com- 
plements "  with  all  practicable  dispatch." 

We  now  come  to  an  important  point  concern- 
ing which  there  exists  some  little  uncertainty. 
By  a  letter  dated  July  17,  1807,  Revenue  officers 
were  reminded  that  they  were  by  law  bound  to 
hoist  the  Revenue  colours  and  fire  a  gun  as  a 
signal  "  before  they  in  any  case  fire  on  any 
smuggling  vessel  or  boat." 

"  We  direct  you  to  convene  the  officers  of  the 

Waterguard  belonging  to   your  port,"    write  the 

Commissioners  to  the  Collector  and  Controller  at 

each  station,  "  including  the  officers  and  crew  of 

the  cruiser  stationed  there,  and  strictly  to  enjoin 

them   whether  on  board  cruisers  or   boats  in   no 

instance  to  fire  on  any  smuggling  vessel  or  boat, 

either  by  night  (whether  it  be  dark  or  light),  or  by 

day,  without  first  hoisting  the  colours  and  firing  a 

gun  as  a  signal,  as  directed  by  law,  and  to  take  care 

160 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

that  on  any  boat  being  sent  out  armed  either  from 
the  shore  or  from  a  cruiser,  in  pursuit  of  seizures 
or  any  other  purpose,  such  boat  be  furnished  with 
a  proper  flag."  Two  years  later,  on  April  11, 
1809,  it  was  decided  that  cruisers  could  legally 
wear  a  pendant  "  conformable  to  the  King's  Pro- 
clamation of  the  1st  January  1801,"  when  requiring 
a  vessel  that  was  liable  to  seizure  or  examination 
to  heave-to,  or  when  chasing  such  a  vessel,  but 
'*  at  no  other  time."  It  is  important  to  bear  in 
mind  that  the  flags  of  chase  were  special  em- 
blems, and  quite  different  from  the  ceremonial 
flags  borne  on  the  Customs  buildings,  hulks, 
and  vessels  not  used  actually  in  the  chasing  of 
smugglers. 

In  addition  to  my  own  independent  research 
on  this  subject  I  am  indebted  for  being  allowed  to 
make  use  of  some  MS.  notes  on  this  interesting 
subject  collected  by  Mr.  Atton,  Librarian  of  the 
Custom  House ;  and  in  spite  of  the  unfortunate 
gaps  which  exist  in  the  historical  chain,  the  follow- 
ing is  the  only  possible  attempt  at  a  connected 
story  of  the  Custom  House  flag's  evolution.  We 
have  already  explained  that  from  the  year  1674  to 
1815  the  Revenue  Preventive  work  was  under  a 
mixed  control.  We  have  also  seen  that  in  the 
year  1730  the  Board  of  Customs  called  attention 
to  the  Proclamation  of  December  18,  1702,  that 
no  ships  were  to  wear  a  pendant  except  those  of 
the  Royal  Navy,  but  that  the  sloops   employed 

161  L 


KING'S    CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

in  the  several  public  offices  might  wear  Jacks  with 
the  seal  of  the  respective  office. 

From  a  report  made  by  the  Harwich  Customs 
in  172G  it  is  clear  that  the  King's  colours  were  at 
that  date  hoisted  when  a  Revenue  cruiser  chased 
a  suspect.  But  as  to  what  the  "  King's  Colours  " 
were  no  one  to-day  knows.  Among  the  regula- 
tions issued  to  the  Revenue  cruisers  in  1816  the 
commanders  were  informed  that  they  were  not 
to  wear  the  colours  used  in  the  Royal  Navy,  but 
to  wear  the  same  pendants  and  ensigns  as  were 
provided  by  tlie  Revenue  Board.  By  24  George 
III.  cap.  47,  certain  signals  of  chase  were  prescribed. 
Thus,  if  the  cruiser  were  a  Naval  vessel  she  was  to 
hoist  "the  proper  pendant  and  ensign  of  H.M. 
ships."  If  a  Custom  House  vessel  she  was  to 
hoist  a  blue  Customs  ensign  and  pendant  "  with 
the  marks  now  used."  If  an  Excise  vessel,  a  blue 
ensign  and  pendant  "  with  the  marks  now  used." 
After  this  had  been  done,  and  a  gun  fired  (shotted 
or  unshotted)  as  a  warning  signal,  she  might 
fire  if  the  smuggler  failed  to  heave-to.  And 
this  regulation  is  by  the  Customs  ConsoHdation 
Act  of  1876  still  in  force,  and  might  to-day  be 
made  use  of  in  the  case  of  an  obstinate  North  Sea 
cooper.  What  one  would  like  to  know  is  what 
were  the  marks  in  use  from  1784  to  1815.  Mr. 
Atton  believes  that  these  marks  were  as  follows  : — 

At  the  masthead  :    a  blue  pendant  with  the 

Union  in  canton  and  the  Customs  badge  of  office 

162 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

(a  castellated  structure  with  portcullis  over  the 
entrance,  and  two  barred  windows  and  two  port- 
holes, one  barred  and  one  open,  the  latter  doubt- 
less to  signify  that  through  which  the  goods  might 
enter)  in  the  fly. 

At  the  gaff:  a  blue  ensign  similarly  marked. 

The  English  Excise,  the  Scottish  Customs, 
Scottish  Excise,  and  the  Irish  Revenue  signals  of 
chase  were  blue  pendants  and  ensigns  similarly 
flown,  but  as  to  the  badges  of  office  one  cannot  be 
certain.  The  matter  of  English  Customs  flags  has 
been  obscured  by  the  quotation  in  Marry  at 's  The 
Kings  Own,  where  a  smuggler  is  made  to  remark 
on  seeing  a  Revenue  vessel's  flag,  "  Revenue  stripes, 
by  the  Lord."  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
bars  of  the  castle  port  and  portcullis  in  the  seal 
were  called  "  stripes  "  by  the  sailors  of  that  day, 
inasmuch  as  they  called  the  East  India  Company's 
flag  of  genuine  stripes  the  "  gridiron."  But  to  me 
it  seems  much  more  likely  that  the  following  is  the 
explanation  for  calling  a  Revenue  cutter's  flag 
"  stripes."  The  signal  flags  Nos.  7  and  8,  which 
were  used  by  the  Royal  Navy  in  1746  to  order  a 
chase  both  consisted  of  stripes.^  No.  7  consisted  of 
eleven  horizontal  stripes,  viz.  six  red  and  five  white. 
Flag  No.  8  had  nine  horizontal  stripes,  viz.  red, 
white,  blue  repeated  three  times,  the  red  being 
uppermost.     I  submit  that  in  sailor's  slang  these 

1  I  am  indebted  to  a  suggestion   made  on  p.  183,  vol.  i.  No.  7  of 
The  Mariner  s  Mirror. 

163 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

signals  would  be  commonly  referred  to  as  "  stripes." 
Consequently  wluitever  flags  subsequently  would 
be  used  to  signal  a  chase  would  be  known  also  as 
"  stripes."  Therefore  whatever  signal  might  be 
flown  in  the  Revenue  service  when  chasing  would 
be  known  as  "  stripes  "  also. 

But  by  an  Order  in  Council  of  the  1st  of 
February  1817,  the  pendant  and  ensign  were  to  be 
thus : — 

The  pendant  to  have  a  red  field  having  a  regal 
crown  thereon  at  the  upper  part  next  the  mast. 
The  ensign  to  be  a  red  Jack  with  a  Union  Jack  in 
a  canton  at  the  upper  corner  next  the  staff,  and 
with  a  regal  crown  in  the  centre  of  the  red  Jack. 
This  was  to  be  worn  by  all  vessels  employed  in  the 
prevention  of  smuggling  under  the  Admiralty, 
Treasury,  Customs  or  Excise. 

Now  during  an  interesting  trial  at  the  Admiralty 
Sessions  held  at  the  Old  Bailey  in  April  of  1825, 
concerning  the  chasing  of  a  smuggler  by  a  Revenue 
cruiser,  Lieutenant  Henry  Nazer,  R.N.,  who  was 
commanding  the  cutter,  stated  in  his  evidence 
that  when  he  came  near  this  smuggling  vessel  the 
former  hoisted  the  Revenue  pendant  at  the  mast- 
head, which  he  described  as  "  a  red  field  with  a 
crown  next  the  mast  at  the  upper  part  of  it." 
He  also  hoisted  the  Revenue  ensign  at  the  peak- 
end,  the  "  Union  at  the  upper  corner  in  a  red  field," 
the  field  of  the  ensign  being  also  red.     It  had  a 

Jack  in  the  corner.     This,  then,  was  exactly  in 

164 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

accordance  with  the  Order  in  Council  of  1817 
mentioned  above. 

But  my  own  opinion  relative  to  the  firing 
of  the  first  gun  is  in  favour  of  the  proposition 
that  this  was  not  necessarily  unshotted.  I  shall 
refer  in  greater  detail  to  the  actual  incidents,  here 
quoted,  on  a  later  page,  but  for  our  present  purpose 
the  following  is  strong  proof  in  favour  of  this 
suggestion.  During  a  trial  in  the  year  1 84-0  (Attor- 
ney-General V.  William  Evans)  it  transpired  that 
Evans  had  entered  the  Medway  in  a  smack  without 
heaving-to,  and  the  following  questions  and  answers 
respectively  were  made  by  counsel  and  Richard 
Braddy,  a  coastguard  who  at  the  time  of  the  in- 
cident was  on  duty  at  Garrison  Fort  (Sheerness): — 

Question.  "  Is  the  first  signal  a  shot  always  ? " 

Answer.  "  A  blank  cartridge  w^e  fire  mostly." 

Q.  "  Did  you  fire  a  blank  ? " 

A.  "No,  because  she  was  going  too  fast  away 
from  me." 

Q.  "  Did  you  hit  her  ? " 

A.  "No." 

To  me  it  seems  certain  from  this  evidence  of 
the  coastguard  that  though  the  first  signal  was 
"  mostly "  blank,  yet  it  was  not  always  or 
necessarily  so. 

It  was  frequently  discovered  that  smuggling 

vessels  lay  off  the  coast   some  distance  from  the 

shore  and  unshipped  their  cargoes  then  into  smaller 

craft   by  which  they  were  brought  to  land,  and 

165 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

this  practice  was  often  observed  by  the  Naval 
officers  at  the  signal  stations.  Thus,  these  smuggling 
runs  might  be  prevented  if  those  officers  were 
enabled  to  apprise  the  Admiralty  and  Revenue 
cruisers  whenever  observed,  so  the  Treasury  put 
themselves  in  communication  with  the  Customs 
Board  with  regard  to  so  important  a  matter.  This 
was  in  the  year  1807.  The  Admiralty  were  re- 
quested to  appoint  some  signals  by  which  Naval 
officers  stationed  at  the  various  signal-posts  along 
the  coasts  might  be  able  to  convey  information  to 
his  JNIajesty's  and  the  Revenue  cruisers  whenever 
vessels  were  observed  illegally  discharging  cargoes. 
The  Admiralty  accordingly  did  as  requested,  and 
these  signals  were  sent  on  to  the  commanders  of 
the  cutters.  This,  of  course,  opened  up  a  new 
matter  in  regard  to  the  apportioning  of  prize- 
money,  and  it  was  decided  that  when  any  vessel 
or  goods  discharged  therefrom  should  be  seized  by 
any  of  the  cruisers  in  consequence  of  information 
given  by  signal  from  these  stations,  and  the  vessel 
and  her  goods  afterwards  were  condemned,  one- 
third  of  the  amount  of  the  King's  share  was  to  be  paid 
to  the  officer  and  men  at  the  signal-post  whence 
such  information  was  first  communicated.  The 
obvious  intention  of  this  regulation  was  to  incite 
the  men  ashore  to  keep  a  smart  look-out. 

The  coast  signal-stations  ^  had  been  permanently 

^  See  article   by  Captain    R.   Hudleston,   R.N.,   iu   The  Mariner's 
Mirrur,  vol.  i.  No.  7. 

166 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

established  in  the  year  1795,  and  were  paid  off 
at  the  coming  of  peace  but  re-established  when 
the  war  broke  out  again,  permission  being  obtained 
from  the  owners  of  the  land  and  a  code  of  signals 
prepared.  The  establishment  of  these  signal- 
stations  had  been  commenced  round  the  coast  soon 
after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Those  at  Fairlight 
and  Beachy  Head  were  established  about  1795.^ 
Each  station  was  supplied  with  one  red  flag,  one 
blue  pendant,  and  four  black  balls  of  painted 
canvas.  When  the  Sea  Fencibles,  to  whom  we 
referred  some  time  back,  were  established,  the 
signal-stations  were  placed  under  the  district 
captains.  This  was  done  in  March  1798,  and  the 
same  thing  was  done  when  the  Sea  Fencibles  had 
to  be  re-established  in  1803.  The  signal-stations 
at  Torbay  and  New  Romney  (East  Bay,  Dunge- 
ness)  had  standing  orders,  says  Captain  Hudleston, 
to  report  all  arrivals  and  departures  direct  to  the 
Admiralty. 

The  Customs  Board  advanced  another  step  for- 
ward when,  in  the  year  1808,  they  considered  whether 
"  benefit  might  not  arise  to  the  service  by  establish- 
ing certain  signals  by  which  the  commanders  of 
the  several  cruisers  in  the  service  of  the  Revenue 
might  be  enabled  to  make  their  vessels  known  to 
each  other,  on  meeting  at  sea,  or  to  distinguish 
each  other  at  a  distance,  and  also  to  make  such 
communications  as  might  be  most  useful,  as  well 

*   Victoria  County  Hist. :  Sussex,  vol.  ii.  p.  199. 

167 


KIxNG'S   (::UTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

as  to  detect  any  deception  which  might  be  at- 
tempted to  be  practised  by  the  masters  of  vessels 
belonging  to  the  enemy,  or  of  smuggling  vessels." 
They  therefore  consulted  "  the  proper  officers  on 
the  subject,"  and  a  code  of  tabular  signals  was 
drawn  up  and  approved  and  sent  to  the  com- 
manders of  the  cruisers  in  a  confidential  manner. 
Each  commander  was  enjoined  to  pay  the  most 
strict  attention  to  such  signals  as  might  be 
made  under  the  regulations,  and  to  co-operate  by 
every  means  in  his  power  for  the  attainment  of 
the  objects  in  view.  These  commanders  were  also 
to  apprise  the  Customs  Board  of  any  matter  which 
might  arise  in  consequence  thereof  "  fit  for  our 
cognisance."  Tliese  signals  were  also  communi- 
cated to  the  commanders  of  the  several  Admiralty 
cruisers.  And  we  must  remember  that  although 
naval  signalling  had  in  a  crude  and  elementary 
manner  been  in  vogue  in  our  Navy  for  centuries, 
and  the  earliest  code  was  in  existence  at  any 
rate  as  far  back  as  1340,  yet  it  was  not  till  the 
eighteenth  century  that  it  showed  any  real  develop- 
ment. During  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century  a  great  deal  of  interest  was  taken  in  the 
matter  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Goodhew,  Sir  Home 
Popham,  Captain  JNIarryat,  and  others.  It  was  the 
atmosphere  of  the  French  and  Spanish  wars  which 
gave  this  incentive,  and  because  the  subject  was 
very  much  in  the  Naval  minds  at  that  time  it  was 

but    natural    that    the    Revenue    service    should 

168 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

appreciate  the  advantage  which  its  appUcation  might 
bestow  for  the  prevention  of  smuggling. 

Further  means  were  also  taken  in  the  early 
nineteenth  century  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the 
cruisers.  In  1811,  in  order  that  they  should  be 
kept  as  constantly  as  possible  on  their  stations,  and 
that  no  excuses  might  be  made  for  delays,  it  was 
decided  that  in  future  the  Inspecting  Commanders 
of  Districts  be  empowered  to  incur  expenses  up  to 
£85  for  the  repairs  which  a  cutter  might  need,  and 
£5  for  similar  repairs  to  her  boats.  The  com- 
manders of  the  cruisers  were  also  permitted  to 
incur  any  expenses  up  to  £20  for  the  cutter  and 
boats  under  their  command.  Such  expenses  were 
to  be  reported  to  the  Board,  with  information  as  to 
why  this  necessity  had  arisen,  where  and  by  what 
tradesmen  the  work  had  been  done,  and  whether  it 
had  been  accomplished  in  the  most  reasonable 
manner.  At  the  end  of  the  following  year,  in 
order  still  further  to  prevent  cruisers  being  absent 
from  their  stations  "  at  the  season  of  the  year  most 
favourable  for  smuggling  practices,  and  when  illegal 
proceedings  are  generally  attempted,"  i.e.  in  the 
dark  days  of  autumn  and  winter  and  spring,  and 
in  order,  also,  to  prevent  several  cutters  being  in 
the  Port  of  London  at  the  same  time,  "  whereby 
the  part  of  the  coast  within  their  respective  dis- 
tricts would  be  left  altogether  without  guard,"  the 
commanders  of  these  cruisers  were  to  give  warning 

when  it  was  apparent  that  extensive  repairs  were 

169 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

needed,  or  a  general  refit,  or  any  other  cause  which 
compelled  the  craft  to  come  up  to  London. 
Timely  notice  was  to  be  given  to  the  Board  so 
that  the  necessity  and  propriety  thereof  should  be 
inquired  into.  It  was  done  also  with  a  view  to 
bringing  in  the  cruisers  from  their  respective 
stations  only  as  best  they  might  be  spared  con- 
sistent with  the  good  of  the  service.  But  they 
were  to  come  to  London  for  such  purposes  only 
between  April  5  and  September  5  of  each 
year.  By  this  means  there  would  always  be 
a  good  service  of  cruisers  at  sea  during  the 
bad  weather  period,  when  the  smugglers  were 
especially  active. 

In  our  quotation  from  The  Three  Cutters 
in  another  chapter  we  gave  the  colours  of  the 
paint  used  on  these  vessels.  I  find  an  interesting 
record  in  the  Custom  House  dated  November  13, 
1812,  giving  an  order  that,  to  avoid  the  injury 
which  cruisers  sustain  from  the  use  of  iron  bolts, 
the  decks  in  future  were  to  be  fastened  with 
composition  bolts,  "  which  would  eventually  prove 
a  saving  to  the  Revenue."  After  ordering  the 
commanders  to  cause  their  vessels  to  be  payed 
twice  every  year  either  with  paint  or  bright 
varnish,  and  not  to  use  scrapers  on  their  decks 
except  after  caulking,  and  then  only  to  remove  the 
unnecessary  pitch,  the  instruction  goes  on  to 
stipulate  the  only  paint  colours    which  are  to  be 

employed  for  cruisers.     These  are  such  as  were 

170 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

then  allowed  in  the  Navy,  viz.  black,  red,  white, 
or  yellow. 

But  apart  from  all  the  manifold  difficulties  and 
anxieties,  both  general  and  detailed,  which  arose 
in  connection  with  these  cruisers  so  long  as  they 
were  at  sea  or  in  the  shipwrights'  hands,  in  com- 
mission or  out  of  commission,  there  were  others 
which  applied  more  strictly  to  their  crews.  Such 
an  incident  as  occurred  in  the  year  1785  needed 
very  close  attention.  In  that  year  the  English 
Ambassador  at  the  Court  of  France  had  been 
informed  by  Monsieur  de  Vergennes  that  parties 
of  sailors  belonging  to  our  Revenue  cruisers  had 
recently  landed  near  Boulogne  in  pursuit  of  some 
smugglers  who  had  taken  to  the  shore.  Monsieur 
de  Vergennes  added  that  if  any  British  sailors  or 
other  armed  men  should  be  taken  in  such  acts 
of  violence  the  French  Government  would  un- 
hesitatingly sentence  them  immediately  to  be 
hanged. 

Of  course  the  French  Government  were  well 
within  their  rights  in  making  such  representations, 
for  natural  enough  as  no  doubt  it  was  to  chase  the 
smugglers  when  they  escaped  ashore,  yet  the 
trespass  was  indefensible.  The  Board  of  Customs 
therefore  instructed  their  cruisers,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  Admiralty  "  whose  commanders  are  fur- 
nished with  commissions  from  this  Board,"  to 
make  a  note  of  the  matter,  in  order  that  neither 
they   nor  their  men  might  inadvertently   expose 

171 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

themselves  to  the  severity  denounced  against  them 
by  the  French  laws  upon  acts  of  the  like  nature. 

In  1812  one  of  the  mariners  belonging  to  a 
cruiser  happened  to  go  ashore,  and  whilst  there 
was  seized  by  the  press-gang  for  his  Majesty's 
Navy.  Such  an  occurrence  as  this  was  highly 
inconvenient  not  only  to  the  man  but  to  the 
Board  of  Customs,  who  resolved  that  henceforth 
the  commanders  of  cruisers  were  not  to  allow  any 
of  tlieir  mariners  shore  leave  unless  in  case  of 
absolute  necessity  "  until  the  protections  which 
may  be  applied  for  shall  have  been  received  and  in 
possession  of  such  mariners." 

Another  matter  that  required  rectification 
was  the  practice  of  taking  on  board  some  of  their 
friends  and  relatives  who  had  no  right  to  be  there. 
Whether  this  was  done  for  pleasure  or  profit  the 
carrying  of  these  passengers  was  deemed  to  be  to 
the  great  detriment  of  the  service,  and  the  Board 
put  a  stop  to  it.  It  was  not  merely  confined  to 
the  cruisers,  but  the  boats  and  galleys  of  the 
Waterguard  were  just  as  badly  abused.  The  one 
exception  allowed  was,  that  when  officers  of  the 
Waterguard  were  removing  from  one  station  to 
another,  they  might  use  such  a  boat  to  convey 
their  families  with  them  provided  it  did  not  inter- 
fere with  the  duties  of  these  officers.  So  also 
some  of  the  commanders  of  the  cruisers  had  even 
taken    on    board    apprentices  and  been   dishonest 

enough  to  have  them  borne  on  the  books  as  able 

172 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

seamen,  and  drawn  their  pay  as  such.  The  Board 
not  unnaturally  deemed  this  practice  highly  im- 
proper, and  immediately  to  be  discontinued.  No 
apprentices  were  to  be  borne  on  the  books  except 
the  boy  allowed  to  all  cruisers. 

After  a  smuggling  vessel's  cargo  had  been 
seized  and  it  was  decided  to  send  the  goods  to 
London,  this  was  done  by  placing  the  tobacco, 
spirits,  &c.,  in  a  suitable  coaster  and  despatching 
her  to  the  Thames.  But  in  order  to  prevent  her 
being  attacked  on  the  sea  by  would-be  rescuers 
she  was  ordered  to  be  convoyed  by  the  Revenue 
cutters.  The  commander  of  whatever  cruiser  was 
in  the  neighbourhood  was  ordered  "  to  accompany 
and  guard  "  her  to  the  Nore  or  Sea  Reach  as  the 
case  might  be.  Every  quarter  the  cruisers  were 
also  to  send  a  list  of  the  seizures  made,  giving 
particulars  of  the  cruiser — her  name,  burthen, 
number  of  guns,  number  of  men,  commander's 
name,  number  of  days  at  sea  during  that  quarter, 
how  many  days  spent  in  port  and  why,  the 
quantity  of  goods  and  nature  of  each  seizure,  the 
number  and  names  of  all  smuggling  vessels 
captured,  both  when  and  where.  There  was  also 
to  be  sent  the  number  of  men  who  had  been  de- 
tained, how  they  had  been  disposed  of,  and  if  the 
men  had  not  been  detained  how  it  was  they  had 
escaped. 

"  Their  Lordships  are  induced  to  call  for  these 
returns,"  ran  the  instruction,  "in  order  to  have 

173 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

before  them,  quarterly,  a  comparative  view  of  the 
exertions  of  the  several  commanders  of  the 
Revenue  cruisers.  .  .  .  They  have  determined,  as 
a  further  inducement  to  diligence  and  activity  in 
the  said  officers,  to  grant  a  reward  of  £500  to  the 
commander  of  the  Revenue  cruiser  who,  in  the 
course  of  the  year  ending  1st  October  1808,  shall 
have  so  secured  and  delivered  over  to  his  Majesty's 
Naval  Service  the  greatest  number  of  smugglers ; 
a  reward  of  £300  to  the  commander  who  shall 
have  secured  and  delivered  over  the  next  greatest 
number,  and  a  reward  of  £200  to  the  commander 
who  shall  be  third  on  the  list  in  those  respects." 
That  was  in  September  of  1887. 

During  the  year  ending  October  1,  1810, 
Captain  Gunthorpe,  commander  of  the  Excise 
cutter  Vipe7\  succeeded  in  handing  over  to  his 
INIajesty's  Navy  thirteen  smugglers  whom  he  had 
seized.  As  this  was  the  highest  number  for  that 
year  he  thus  became  entitled  to  the  premium  of 
£500.  Captains  Curling  and  Dobbin,  two  Reve- 
nue officers,  were  together  concerned  in  trans- 
ferring six  men  to  the  Navy,  but  inasmuch  as 
Captain  Patmour  had  been  able  to  transfer  five 
men  during  this  same  year  it  was  he  to  whom 
the  £300  were  awarded.  Captain  Morgan  of  the 
Excise  cutter  and  Captain  Haddock  of  the  Cus- 
tom House  cutter  Stag  each  transferred  four  men 
during  that  year. 

"  But  my  Lords,"  states  a  Treasury  minute  of 
174 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

December  13,  1811,  "understanding  that  the 
nature  of  the  service  at  Deal  frequently  requires 
the  Revenue  vessels  to  co-operate  with  each  other, 
do  not  think  it  equitable  that  such  a  circumstance 
should  deprive  Messrs.  Curling  and  Dobbin  of  a 
fair  remuneration  for  their  diligence,  and  are 
therefore  pleased  to  direct  warrants  likewise  to  be 
prepared  granting  to  each  of  those  gentlemen  the 
sum  of  £100."  In  spite  of  the  above  numbers, 
however,  the  Treasury  were  not  satisfied,  and  did 
not  think  that  the  number  of  men  by  this  means 
transferred  to  the  Navy  had  been  at  all  propor- 
tionate to  the  encouragement  which  they  had 
held  out.  They  therefore  altered  the  previous 
arrangement  so  as  to  embrace  those  cases  only  in 
which  the  exertions  of  the  cruisers'  commanders 
had  been  of  an  exceptionally  distinguished  nature. 
Thus  during  1812  and  the  succeeding  years,  until 
some  further  provision  might  be  made,  it  was 
decided  that  "  the  sum  of  £500  will  be  paid  to 
such  person  commanding  a  Revenue  cutter  as 
shall  in  any  one  year  transfer  to  the  Navy  the 
greatest  number  of  smugglers,  not  being  less  than 
twenty."  The  sum  of  £300  was  to  be  paid  to  the 
persons  commanding  a  Revenue  cutter  who  in  any 
year  should  transfer  the  next  greatest  number  of 
smugglers,  not  being  less  than  fifteen.  And  £200 
were  to  be  paid  to  the  commander  who  in  one  year 
should  have  transferred  the  third  largest,  not  being 

less  than  ten."    This  decision  was  made  in  January 

175 


KINGS   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  1812,  and  in  the  following  year  it  was  directed 
that  in  future  the  rewards  granted  to  the  com- 
manders of  the  Revenue  cruisers  for  delivering  the 
greatest  number  of  smugglers  should  be  made  not 
exclusively  to  the  commanders  but  distributed 
amonir  the  commander,  officers,  and  crew  accord- 
ing  to  the  scale  which  has  already  been  given  on 
an  earlier  page  in  this  volume.  At  the  end  of  the 
year  1813  it  was  further  decided  that  when  vessels 
and  boats  of  above  four  tons  measurement  were 
seized  in  ballast  and  afterw^ards  broken  up,  not 
owing  to  their  build,  their  construction,  or  their 
denomination,  but  simply  because  they  had  been 
engaged  in  smuggling,  the  seizing  officers  should 
become  entitled  to  30s.  a  ton. 

There  was  also  a  system  instituted  in  the  year 
1808  by  which  the  widows  of  supervisors  and 
surveyors  of  Riding  officers  and  commanders  of 
cruisers  were  allowed  £30  per  annum,  with  an 
additional  allowance  of  £5  per  annum  for  each 
child  until  it  reached  the  age  of  fifteen.  The 
widows  of  Riding  officers,  mates  of  cutters,  and 
sitters  of  boats  specially  stationed  for  the  preven- 
tion of  smuggling  were  allowed  £25  per  annum 
and  £5  for  each  child  until  fifteen  years  old.  In 
the  case  of  the  widows  of  mariners  they  were  to 
have  £15  a  year  and  £2,  10s.  for  each  child  till  the 
age  of  fifteen.  And  one  finds  among  those  thus 
rewarded  Ann  Sarmon,  the  widow,  and  the  three 

children   of  the  commander  of  the   Swan  cutter 

176 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

stationed  at  Cowes ;  the  one  child  of  the  mate  of 
the  Tartar  cutter  of  Dover;  the  widow  of  the 
mate  of  the  Dolphin  of  St.  Ives ;  the  widow  of  the 
Riding  officer  at  Southampton ;  the  widow  and 
children  of  the  commander  of  the  cutter  Hunter 
at  Yarmouth  ;  and  likewise  of  the  Huntei's  mate. 

After  the  10th  of  October  1814  the  allowance 
for  victualling  the  crews  of  the  Revenue  cruisers 
was  augmented  as  follows  : — For  victualling  com- 
mander and  mate,  3s.  a  day  each  and  Is.  6d.  per 
lunar  month  for  fire  and  candle.  For  victualling, 
fire,  and  candle  for  mariners.  Is.  lOd.  a  day  each. 
The  daily  rations  to  be  supplied  to  each  mariner 
on  board  the  cruisers  were  to  consist  oi  \\  lbs.  of 
meat,  \\  lbs.  of  bread,  and  two  quarts  of  beer.  If 
flour  or  vegetables  were  issued  the  quantity  of 
bread  was  to  be  reduced,  and  if  cheese  were 
supplied  then  the  amount  was  to  be  reduced  in 
proportion  to  the  value  and  not  to  the  quantity  of 
such  articles.  And,  in  order  to  obtain  uniformity, 
a  table  of  the  rations  as  above  was  to  be  fixed  up 
against  the  fore  side  of  the  mast  under  the  deck  of 
the  cruiser,  and  also  in  some  conspicuous  place  in 
the  Custom  House. 

Very  elaborate  instructions  were  also  issued 
regarding  the  use  of  the  tourniquet,  which  *'  is  to 
stop  a  violent  bleeding  from  a  wounded  artery  in  the 
limbs  till  it  can  be  properly  secured  and  tied  by  a 
surgeon."  The  medicine  chest  of  these  cruisers 
contained  the  following  twenty  articles  :  vomiting 

177  M 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

powders,  purging  powders,  sweating  powders,  fever 
powders,  calomel  pills,  laudanum,  cough  drops, 
stomach  tincture,  bark,  scurvy  drops,  hartshorn, 
peppermint,  lotion,  Friar's  balsam,  Turner  cerate, 
basilicon  (for  healing  "  sluggish  ulcers  "),  mercurial 
ointment,  blistering  ointment,  sticking-plaster,  and 
lint. 

In  short,  with  its  fleet  of  cruisers  well  armed  and 
well  manned,  w^ell  found  in  everything  necessary 
both  for  ship  and  crew  ;  wdth  good  w^ages,  the  offer 
of  high  rewards,  and  pensions ;  with  other  privi- 
leges second  only  to  those  obtainable  in  the  Royal 
Navy ;  the  Customs  Board  certainly  did  their  best  to 
make  the  floating  branch  of  its  Preventive  service 
as  tempting  and  efficient  as  it  could  possibly  be. 
And  that  there  were  not  more  captures  of 
smugglers  was  the  fault  at  any  rate  not  of  those 
who  had  the  administration  of  these  cutters. 

A  very  good  idea  as  to  the  appearance  of  a 
nineteenth  century  Revenue  cruiser  may  be  ob- 
tained by  regarding  the  accompanying  photo- 
graphs of  his  Majesty's  cutter  Wickham.  These 
have  been  courteously  supplied  to  me  by  Dr. 
Robertson-Fullarton  of  Kilmichael,  whose  ancestor, 
Captain  Fullarton,  R.N.,  had  command  of  this 
vessel.  The  original  painting  was  made  in  1806, 
and  shows  a  fine,  able  vessel  with  ports  for  seven 
guns  a-side,  being  painted  after  the  manner  of  the 
contemporary  men-of-war.     To  facilitate  matters 

the  central  portion  of  the  picture  has  been  enlarged, 

178 


H.M.  CUTTER   WICKHAM 

Commanded  by  Captain  John  Fullarton,  R.N.     From  a  contemporary  painting 
in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Robertson-Fullarton  of  Kilmichael. 


CUTTERS'   EQUIPMENT 

and  thus  the  rigging  and  details  of  the  Wickham 
can  be  closely  examined.  It  will  be  observed 
that  this  cutter  has  beautiful  bows  with  a  fine, 
bold  sheer,  and  would  doubtless  possess  both  speed 
and  considerable  seaworthiness  essential  for  the 
west  coast  of  Scotland,  her  station  being  the 
Island  of  Arran.  In  the  picture  before  us  it  will 
be  seen  that  she  has  exceptionally  high  bulwarks  and 
appears  to  have  an  additional  raised  deck  forward. 
The  yard  on  which  the  squaresail  was  carried 
when  off  the  wind  is  seen  lowered  with  its  foot- 
ropes  and  tackle.  The  mainsail  is  of  course 
loose-footed,  and  the  tack  is  seen  well  triced  up. 
Two  things  especially  strike  us.  First,  the  small- 
ness  of  the  yard  to  which  the  head  of  the  gafF- 
topsail  is  laced ;  and  secondly,  the  great  size  of 
the  headsail.  She  has  obviously  stowed  her  work- 
ing jib  and  foresail  and  set  her  balloon  jib.  When 
running  before  a  breeze  such  a  craft  could  set 
not  merely  all  plain  sail,  but  her  squaresail,  square- 
topsail  and  even  stun'sls.  Therefore,  the  smuggling 
vessel  that  was  being  chased  must  needs  be  pretty 
fleet  of  foot  to  get  away. 

Campbeltown  in  those  days  was  the  head- 
quarters of  no  fewer  than  seven  large  Revenue 
cruisers,  all  being  commanded  by  naval  officers. 
They  were  powerful  vessels,  generally  manned  by 
double  crews,  each  having  a  smaller  craft  to  act 
as  tender,  their  chief  duties   being   to   intercept 

those   who  smuggled    salt,   spirits,   and  tea   from 

179 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  Isle  of  JNIan.  Tlie  officers  and  men  of  the 
cutters  made  Campbeltown  their  home,  and  the 
houses  of  the  commanders  were  usually  built 
opposite  to  the  buoys  of  the  respective  cutters. 
Tiie  merits  of  each  cutter  and  officer  were  the 
subject  of  animated  discussion  in  the  town,  and 
how  "  old  Jack  Fullarton  had  carried  on  "  till  all 
seemed  to  be  going  by  the  board  on  a  coast 
bristling  with  sunken  rocks,  or  how  Captain 
Beatson  had  been  caught  off  the  JMull  in  the 
great  January  gale,  and  with  what  skill  he  had 
weathered  the  headland — these  were  questions 
which  were  the  subjects  of  many  a  debate  among 
the  enthusiasts. 

This  Captain  John  Fullarton  had  in  early  life 
served  as  a  midshipman  on  a  British  man-of-war. 
On  one  occasion  he  had  been  sent  under  Lord 
Wickham  to  France  on  a  certain  mission  in  a 
war-vessel.  The  young  officer's  intelligence, 
superior  manners,  and  handsome  appearance  so 
greatly  pleased  Lord  Wickham,  that  his  lordship 
insisted  on  having  young  Fullarton  alone  to  ac- 
company him  ashore.  After  the  mission  was 
over  Lord  Wickham  suggested  procuring  him 
some  advancement  in  the  service,  to  which 
Fullarton  replied,  "  My  lord,  I  am  sincerely 
grateful  for  your  undesired  kindness,  and  for  the 
interest  you  have  been  pleased  to  show  in  regard 
to  my  future  prospects.     Since,  however,  you  have 

asked  my  personal  views,  I  am  bound  to  say  I 

180 


CUTTERS'  EQUIPMENT 

am  not  ambitious  for  promotion  on  board  a  man- 
of-war.  1  have  a  small  property  in  Scotland, 
and  if  your  lordship  could  obtain  for  me  the 
command  of  one  of  his  Majesty's  cutters,  with 
which  I  might  spend  my  time  usefully  and  honour- 
ably in  cruising  the  waters  around  my  native 
island  of  Arran,  I  should  feel  deeply  indebted  to 
you,  and  I  should  value  such  an  appointment 
above  all  others." 

Soon  afterwards,  the  cutter  Wickham  was 
launched,  and  Mr.  Fullarton  obtained  his  com- 
mission as  captain,  the  mate  being  Mr.  Donald 
Fullarton,  and  most  of  the  crew  Arran  men.^ 

^  For  these  details  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Robertson- 
Fullarton,  who  lias  also  called  my  attention  to  some  information  in 
an  unlikely  source — The  Memoirs  of  Norman  Mucleod,  D,D.,  by 
Donald  Macleod,  1876. 


181 


CHAPTER   X 

THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

By  an  Order  in  Council,  dated  September  9,  1807, 
certain  rewards  were  to  be  paid  to  the  military 
for  aiding  any  officer  of  the  Customs  in  making 
or  guarding  any  seizure  of  prohibited  "  or  un- 
customed goods."  It  was  further  directed  that 
such  rewards  should  be  paid  as  soon  as  possible, 
for  which  purpose  the  Controllers  and  Collectors 
were  to  appraise  with  all  due  accuracy  all  articles 
seized  and  brought  to  his  Majesty's  warehouse 
within  seven  days  of  the  articles  being  brought 
in.  The  strength  of  all  spirits  seized  by  the 
Navy  or  Military  was  also  to  be  ascertained  im- 
mediately on  their  being  brought  into  the  King's 
warehouse,  so  that  the  rewards  might  be  immedi- 
ately paid.  The  tobacco  and  snuiF  seized  and 
condemned  were  ordered  to  be  sold.  But  when 
these  articles  at  such  a  sale  did  not  fetch  a  sum 
equal  to  the  amount  of  the  duty  chargeable,  then 
the  commodity  was  to  be  burnt.  Great  exertions 
were  undoubtedly  made  by  the  soldiers  for  the 
suppression  of  smuggling,  but  care  had  to  be 
taken  to  prevent  wanton  and  improper  seizures. 

The    men   of  this    branch    of  the    service   were 

18^ 


THE   INCREASE   IN    SMUGGLING 

awarded  40s.  for  every  horse  that  was  seized  by 
them  with  smuggled  goods. 

Everyone  is  aware  of  the  fact  that,  not  once 
but  regularly,  the  smugglers  used  to  signal  to 
their  craft  at  night  from  the  shore  as  to  whether 
the  coast  were  clear,  or  whether  it  were  better 
for  the  cutter  or  lugger  to  run  out  to  sea  again. 
From  a  collection  of  authentic  incidents  I  find 
the  following  means  were  employed  for  signalling 
purposes  : — 

1.  The  commonest  signal  at  night  was  to 
wave  a  lantern  from  a  hill  or  some  prominent 
landmark,  or  from  a  house  suitably  situated. 

2.  To  take  a  flint  and  steel  and  set  fire  to  a 
bundle  of  straw  near  the  edge  of  a  cliff. 

3.  To  burn  a  blue  light. 

4.  To  fire  a  pistol. 

5.  The  above  were  all  night-signals,  but  for 
day-work  the  craft  could  signal  to  the  shore  or 
other  craft  by  lowering  and  raising  a  certain  sail 
so  many  times. 

There  were  very  many  prosecutions  for  signal- 
ling to  smuggling  craft  at  many  places  along  our 
coast.  A  sentence  of  six  months'  imprisonment 
was  usually  the  result.  Similarly,  the  Preventive 
officers  on  shore  used  to  fire  pistols  or  burn  a  blue 
light  in  signalling  to  themselves  for  assistance. 
The  pistol-firing  would  then  be  answered  by  that 
of  other  Customs  men  in  the  neighbourhood.     And 

with  regard  to  the  matter  of  these  signals  by  the 

183 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

friends  of  smugglers,  the  Attorney-  and  Solicitor- 
General  in  1805  gave  their  opinion  to  the  effect 
that  it  was  not  even  necessary  for  the  prosecution 
to  prove  that  there  was  at  that  time  hovering  off 
the  coast  a  smuggling  craft,  or  that  one  was  found 
to  have  been  within  the  limits ;  but  the  justice 
and  jury  must  be  satisfied  from  the  circumstances 
and  proof  that  the  fire  was  lit  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  a  signal  to  some  smugglers. 

By  the  summer  of  1807  smuggling  in  England 
and  Wales  had  increased  to  what  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Customs  designated  an  "  alarming 
extent."  An  Act  was  therefore  passed  to  ensure 
the  more  effectual  prevention  of  this  crime,  and 
once  again  the  Revenue  officers  were  exhorted  to 
perform  their  duty  to  its  fullest  extent,  and  were 
threatened  with  punishment  in  case  of  any  dere- 
liction in  this  respect,  while  rewards  were  held  out 
as  an  inducement  to  zealous  action.  Under  this 
new  Act  powers  were  given  to  the  Army,  Navy, 
Marines,  and  Militia  to  work  in  concert  with  each 
other  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  smuggling, 
for  seizing  smuggled  goods,  and  all  implements, 
horses,  and  persons  employed  or  attempting  to 
bring  these  ashore.  The  lack  of  vigilance,  and 
even  the  collusion  with  smugglers,  on  the  part  of 
Revenue  officials  was  still  too  real  to  be  ignored. 
Between  Dover  and  Rye,  especially,  were  tobacco, 
snufF,  spirits  and  tea  run  into  the  country  to  a 

very  considerable  extent.     And  the  Government 

184 


THE  INCREASE  IN  SMUGGLING 

well  knew  that  "in  some  of  the  towns  on  the 
coast  of  Kent  and  Sussex,  amongst  which  are 
Hastings,  Folkestone,  Hythe,  and  Deal,  but  more 
especially  the  latter,  the  practice  of  smuggling  is 
carried  on  so  generally  by  such  large  gangs  of  men, 
that  there  can  exist  no  hope  of  checking  it  but  by 
the  constant  and  most  active  vigilance  of  strong 
military  patrols,  with  parties  in  readiness  to  come 
to  their  assistance."  So  wrote  Mr.  W.  Huskisson, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  Colonel  Gordon  in 
August  1807. 

The  Deal  smugglers  went  to  what  Mr.  Hus- 
kisson called  "  daring  lengths,"  and  for  this  reason 
the  Treasury  suggested  that  patrols  should  be 
established  within  the  town  of  Deal,  and  for  two 
or  three  miles  east  and  west  of  the  same.  And 
the  Treasury  also  very  earnestly  requested  the 
Commander-in-chief  for  every  possible  assistance 
from  the  Army.  It  was  observed,  also,  that  so 
desperate  were  these  smugglers,  that  even  when 
they  had  been  captured  and  impressed,  they  fre- 
quently escaped  from  the  men-of-war  and  returned 
to  their  previous  life  of  smuggling.  To  put  a  stop 
to  this  the  Treasury  made  the  suggestion  that  such 
men  when  captured  should  be  sent  to  ships 
cruising  at  distant  foreign  stations.  Some  idea  of 
the  violence  which  was  always  ready  to  be  used  by 
the  smugglers  may  be  gathered  by  the  incident 
which   occurred  on   the  25th  of  February  1805. 

On  this  day  the  cutter  Tartar,  in  the  service  of  the 

185 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Customs,  and  the  Excise  cutter  Livehj  were  at 
10  i\.Ai.  cruising  close  to  Dungeness  on  tlie  look-out 
for  smuggling  craft.  At  the  time  mentioned  they 
saw  a  large  decked  lugger  which  seemed  to  them 
indeed  to  be  a  smuggler.  It  stood  on  its  course 
and  ev^entually  must  run  its  nose  ashore.  There- 
upon a  boat's  crew,  consisting  of  men  from  the 
Ta7'tar  and  the  Lively,  got  out  their  oars  and  rowed 
to  the  spot  where  the  lugger  was  evidently  about 
to  land  her  cargo.  They  brought  their  boat  right 
alongside  the  lugger  just  as  the  latter  took  the 
ground.  But  the  lugger's  crew,  as  soon  as  they 
saw  the  Rev^enue  boat  come  up  to  her,  promptly 
forsook  her  and  scrambled  on  to  the  beach  hurriedly. 
It  was  noticed  that  her  name  was  Diana,  and  the 
Revenue  officers  had  from  the  first  been  pretty 
sure  that  she  was  no  innocent  fishing-vessel,  for 
they  had  espied  flashes  from  the  shore  im- 
mediately before  the  Diana  grazed  her  keel  on 
to  the  beach. 

Led  by  one  of  the  two  captains  out  of  the 
cutters,  the  Revenue  men  got  on  board  the  smuggler 
and  seized  her,  when  she  was  found  to  contain  a 
cargo  of  665  casks  of  brandy,  118  casks  of  rum,  and 
237  casks  of  Geneva.  Besides  these,  she  had  four 
casks,  one  case  and  one  basket  of  wine,  119  bags 
of  tobacco,  and  43  lbs.  of  tea — truly  a  very  fine  and 
valuable  cargo.  But  the  officers  had  not  been  in 
possession  of  the  lugger  and  her  cargo  more  than 

three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  a  great  crowd  of 

186 


THE   INCREASE   IN    SMUGGLING 

infuriated  people  came  down  to  the  beach,  armed 
with  firearms  and  wicked-looking  bludgeons.  For 
the  lugger's  crew  had  evidently  rushed  to  their 
shore  friends  and  told  them  of  their  bad  luck. 
Some  members  of  this  mob  were  on  horseback, 
others  on  foot,  but  on  they  came  with  oaths  and 
threats  to  where  the  lugger  and  her  captors  were 


"  A  great  crowd  of  infuriated  people  came  down  to  the  beach." 

remaining.     "AVe're  going  to  rescue   the  lugger 

and  her  goods,"  exclaimed  the  smugglers,  as  they 

stood  round  the  bows  of  the  Diana  in  the  darkness 

of  the  night.     The  Revenue  men  warned   them 

that  they  had  better  keep  off,  or  violence  would 

have   to  be  used  to  prevent   such   threats  being 

carried  out. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  expect  reason  from  an 

uncontrolled  mob  raging  with  fury  and  indignation. 

187 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Soon  the  smugglers  had  opened  fire,  and  ball  was 
whistling  through  the  night  air.  The  Diana  was 
now  lying  on  her  side,  and  several  muskets  were 
levelled  at  the  Revenue  men.  One  of  the  latter 
was  a  man  named  Dawkins,  and  the  smugglers  had 
got  so  close  that  one  villainous  ruffian  presented  a 
piece  at  Dawkins'  breast,  though  the  latter  smartly 
wrested  it  from  him  before  any  injury  had  been 
received.  But  equally  quickly,  another  smuggler 
armed  with  a  cutlass  brought  the  blade  down 
and  wounded  Dawkins  on  the  thumb.  A  general 
engagement  now  proceeded  as  the  smugglers  con- 
tinued to  fire,  but  unfortunately  the  powder  of  the 
Revenue  men  had  become  wet,  so  only  one  of  their 
crew  was  able  to  return  the  fire.  Finding  at  length 
that  they  were  no  match  for  their  aggressors,  the 
crews  were  compelled  to  leave  the  lugger  and 
retreat  to  some  neighbouring  barracks  where  the 
Lancashire  Militia  happened  to  be  quartered,  and 
a  sergeant  and  his  guard  were  requisitioned  to 
strengthen  them.  With  this  squad  the  firing 
was  more  evenly  returned  and  one  of  the  smugglers 
was  shot,  but  before  long,  unable  to  resist  the 
military,  the  smugglers  ceased  firing  and  the  beach 
was  cleared  of  the  mob. 

The  matter  was  in  due  course  reported  to 
the  Board  of  Customs,  who  investigated  the  affair 
and  ordered  a  prosecution  of  the  smugglers.  No 
one  had  been  captured,  however,  so  they  offered 

a  reward  of  £200.     That  was  in  the  year  1805 ; 

188 


THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

but  it  was  not  till  1813  or  1814  that  information 
came  into  their  hands,  for  no  one  would  come 
forward  to  earn  the  reward.  In  the  last-mentioned 
year,  however,  search  was  made  for  the  wanted 
men,  and  two  persons,  named  respectively  Jeremiah 
Maxted  and  Thomas  Gilbert,  natives  of  Lydd, 
were  arrested  and  put  on  their  trial.  They  were 
certainly  the  two  ringleaders  of  that  night,  and 
incited  the  crowd  to  a  frenzy,  although  these 
two  men  did  not  actually  themselves  shoot,  but 
they  were  heard  to  offer  a  guinea  a  man  to 
any  of  the  mob  who  would  assist  in  rescuing 
the  seized  property.  Still,  in  spite  of  the  evidence 
that  was  brought  against  these  men,  such  was 
the  condition  of  things  that  they  were  found 
not  guilty. 

But  it  was  not  always  that  the  Revenue  men 
acted  with  so  much  vigour,  nor  with  so  much 
honesty.  It  was  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
1807  that  two  of  the  Riding  officers  stationed 
at  Newhaven,  Sussex,  attempted  to  bribe  a  patrol 
of  dragoons  who  were  also  on  duty  there  for 
the  prevention  of  smuggling.  The  object  of  the 
bribe  was  to  induce  the  military  to  leave  their 
posts  for  a  short  period,  so  that  a  cargo  of  dutiable 
goods,  which  were  expected  shortly  to  arrive, 
might  be  smuggled  ashore  without  the  payment 
of  the  Crown's  duties.  For  such  a  suggestion 
to  be  made  by  Preventive  men  was  in  itself 
disgraceful,    and    showed    not    merely    a    grossly 

189 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

dishonest  purpose  but  an  extraordinary  failure  of 
a  sense  of  duty.  However,  the  soldiers,  perhaps 
not  altogether  displeased  at  being  able  to  give 
free  rein  to  some  of  the  jealousies  which  existed 
between  the  Revenue  men  and  the  Army,  did 
not  respond  to  the  suggestion,  but  promptly 
arrested  the  Riding  officers  and  conducted  them 
to  Newhaven.  Of  these  two  it  was  afterwards 
satisfactorily  proved  that  one  had  actually  offered 
the  bribe  to  the  patrol,  but  the  other  was  acquitted 
of  that  charge.  Both,  however,  were  dismissed 
from  the  Customs  service,  while  the  sergeant  and 
soldiers  forming  the  patrol  were  rewarded,  the 
sum  of  £20  being  sent  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  their  regiment,  to  be  divided  among 
the  patrol  as  he  might  think  best. 

It  was  not  merely  the  tobacco,  spirits,  and  tea 
which  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
were  being  smuggled  into  the  country,  although 
these  were  the  principal  articles.  In  addition 
to  silks,  laces,  and  other  goods,  the  number  of 
pairs  of  gloves  which  clandestinely  came  in  was 
so  great  that  the  manufacture  of  English  gloves 
was  seriously  injured. 

In  the  year  1811  so  ineffectual  had  been  the 

existing  shore  arrangements  that  an  entirely  new 

plan  was  inaugurated  for  suppressing  smuggling. 

The  Riding  officers  no  doubt  had  a  difficult  and 

even  dangerous  duty  to  perform,  but  their  conduct 

left  much  to  be  desired,  and  they  needed  to  be 

190 


THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

kept  up  to  their  work.  Under  the  new  system, 
the  office  of  Supervisor  or  Surveyor  of  Riding 
officers  was  abolished,  and  that  of  Inspector  of 
Riding  officers  was  created  in  its  stead.  The 
coast  of  England  was  divided  into  the  following 
three  districts  : — 

No.  I.  London  to  Penzance. 

No.  II.  Penzance  to  Carlisle. 

No.  III.  London  to  Berwick. 

There  were  altogether  seven  of  these  Inspec- 
tors appointed,  three  being  for  the  first  district, 
two  for  the  second,  and  two  for  the  third.  The 
first  district  was  of  course  the  worst,  because 
it  included  the  English  Channel  and  especially 
the  counties  of  Kent  and  Sussex.  Hence  the 
greater  number  of  Inspectors.  Hence,  also,  these 
three  officers  were  given  a  yearly  salary  of  £180, 
with  a  yearly  allowance  of  £35  for  the  main- 
tenance of  a  horse.  The  Inspectors  of  the  other 
two  districts  were  paid  £150  each  with  the  same 
£35  allowance  for  a  horse.  In  addition,  the 
Inspectors  of  all  districts  were  allowed  10s.  a 
day  when  upon  inspections,  which  were  not  to 
last  less  than  60  days  in  each  quarter  in  actual 
movement,  "  in  order  by  constant  and  unexpected 
visitations,  strictly  to  watch  and  check  the  conduct 
of  tlie  Riding  officers  within  their  allotted  station." 
Under  this  new  arrangement,  also,  the  total 
number   of  Riding   officers   was   to   be   120,  and 

these  were  divided  into  two  classes— Superior  and 

191 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SISIUGGLERS 

Inferior.     Their   salaries  and   allowances  were  as 
follows : — 

First  District 

Superior  Riding  Officer      .....     £.90 
Inferior         ,,  „  .....        75 

Allowance  for  horse   ......        30 

Second  and  Third  Districts 

Superior  Riding  Officer      .....     £80 
Inferior         „  ,,  .  ....        65 

Allowance  for  horse  ......         30 

The  general  principle  of  promotion  was  to  be 
based  on  the  amount  of  activity  and  zeal  which 
were  displayed,  the  Superior  Riding  officers  being 
promoted  from  the  Inferior,  and  the  Inspectors 
of  Districts  being  promoted  from  the  most  zealous 
Superior  Riding  officers. 

And  there  was,  too,  a  difficulty  with  regard  to 

the  smugglers  when  they  became  prisoners.     We 

have  already  remarked  how  ready  they  were  to 

escape  from  the  men-of-war.     In  the  year   1815 

there  were  some  smugglers  in  detention  on  board 

one  of  the  Revenue   cutters.     At  that  time  the 

cutter's  mate  was  acting  as  commander,  and  he  was 

foolish  enough  to  allow  some  of  the  smugglers' 

friends   from  the   shore — themselves   also   of  the 

same  trade — to  have  free  communication  with  two 

of  the  prisoners  without  anyone  being  present  on 

behalf  of  the  Customs.     The  result  was  that  one 

of  the  men  succeeded  in  making  his  escape.     As  a 

result  of  this  captive  smugglers  were  not  permitted 

192 


THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

to  have  communication  with  their  friends  except 
in  the  presence  of  a  proper  officer.  And  there 
was  a  great  laxity,  also,  in  the  guarding  of 
smugglers  sent  aboard  his  Majesty's  warships. 
In  several  cases  the  commanders  actually  declined 
to  receive  these  men  when  delivered  by  the 
Revenue  department :  they  didn't  want  the  rascals 
captured  by  the  cutters,  and  they  were  not  going 
to  take  them  into  their  ship's  complement.  This 
went  on  for  a  time,  until  the  Admiralty  sent  down 
a  peremptory  order  that  the  captains  and  com- 
manders were  to  receive  these  smugglers,  and  when 
an  opportunity  arose  they  were  to  send  them  to 
the  flagship  at  Portsmouth  or  Plymouth. 

As  illustrative  of  the  business-like  methods 
with  which  the  smugglers  at  this  time  pursued 
their  calling,  the  following  may  well  be  brought 
forward.  In  the  year  1814  several  of  the  chief 
smuggling  merchants  at  Alderney  left  that 
notorious  island  and  settled  at  Cherbourg.  But 
those  small  craft,  which  up  till  then  had  been  wont 
to  run  across  to  the  Channel  Isles,  began  instantly 
to  make  for  the  French  port  instead.  From  Lyme 
and  Beer  in  West  Bay,  from  Portland  and  from 
the  Isle  of  Wight  they  sailed,  to  load  up  with  their 
illicit  cargoes,  and  as  soon  as  they  arrived  they 
found,  ready  awaiting  them  in  the  various  stores 
near  the  quays,  vast  quantities  of  "  tubs,"  as  the 
casks  were  called,  whilst  so  great  was  the  de- 
mand, that  several  coopers  were  kept  there  busily 

193  N 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

employed  making  new  ones.  Loaded  with  spirits 
they  were  put  on  board  the  English  craft,  which 
soon  hoisted  sail  and  sped  away  to  the  English 
shores,  though  many  there  must  have  been  which 
foundered  in  bad  weather,  or,  swept  on  by  the 
dreaded  xVlderney  Race  and  its  seven-knot  tide, 
had  an  exciting  time,  only  to  be  followed  up  later 
by  the  English  Revenue  cutters,  or  captured  under 
the  red  cliffs  of  Devonshire  in  the  act  of  taking 
the  tubs  ashore.  For  the  Customs  Board  well 
knew  of  this  change  of  market  to  Cherbourg,  and 
lost  no  time  in  informing  their  officers  at  the 
different  outports  and  the  cruiser-commanders  as 
well. 

A  large  number  of  the  merchant-smugglers 
from  Guernsey  at  the  same  time  migrated  to 
Coniris,  about  eight  miles  from  Tregner,  in  France, 
and  ten  leagues  east  of  the  Isle  of  Bas,  and  twelve 
leagues  S.S.W.  from  Guernsey.  Anyone  who 
is  familiar  with  that  treacherous  coast,  and  the 
strength  of  its  tides,  will  realise  that  in  bad  weather 
these  little  craft,  heavily  loaded  as  they  always 
were  on  the  return  journey,  must  have  been 
punished  pretty  severely.  Some  others,  doubtless, 
foundered  altogether  and  never  got  across  to  the 
Devonshire  shores.  Those  people  who  had  now 
settled  down  at  Coniris  were  they  who  had 
previously  dealt  with  the  smugglers  of  Cawsand, 
Polperro,  Mevagissey,  and  Gerrans.  To  these 
places  were  even  sent  circular  letters  inviting  the 

194 


THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

English  smugglers  to  come  over  to  Coniris,  just  as 
previously  they  had  come  to  fetch  goods  from 
Guernsey.  And  another  batch  of  settlers  from 
Guernsey  made  their  new  habitation  at  Roscore 
(Isle  of  Bas),  from  which  place  goods  were 
smuggled  into  Coverack  (near  the  Lizard),  Kedg- 
worth,  Mount's  Bay,  and  different  places  "in  the 
North  Channel." 

Spirits,  besides  being  brought  across  in  casks 
and  run  into  the  country  by  force  or  stealth,  were 
also  frequently  at  this  time  smuggled  in  through 
the  agency  of  the  French  boats  which  brought 
vegetables  and  poultry.  In  this  class  of  case  the 
spirits  were  also  in  small  casks,  but  the  latter  were 
concealed  between  false  bulkheads  and  hidden 
below  the  ballast.  But  this  method  was  practi- 
cally a  new  departure,  and  began  only  about  1815. 
This  was  the  smuggling-by-concealment  manner, 
as  distinct  from  that  which  was  carried  on  by  force 
and  by  stealth.  AVe  shall  have  a  good  deal  more 
to  say  about  this  presently,  so  we  need  not  let  the 
matter  detain  us  now.  Commanders  of  cruisers 
were  of  course  on  the  look-out  for  suspected  craft, 
but  they  were  reminded  by  the  Board  that  they 
must  be  careful  to  make  no  seizures  within  three 
miles  of  the  French  and  Dutch  coasts.  And  that 
was  why,  as  soon  as  a  suspected  vessel  was  sighted, 
and  a  capture  was  about  to  be  made,  some  officer 
on  the  Revenue  cutter  was  most  careful  immedi- 
ately to  take  cross-bearings  and  fix  his  position  ; 

195 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

or  if  no  land  was  in  sioht  to  reckon  the  number 
of  leagues  the  ship  had  run  since  the  last  "  fix  " 
had  been  made.  This  matter  naturally  came  out 
very  strongly  in  the  trials  when  the  captured 
smugglers  were  being  prosecuted,  and  it  was  the 
business  of  the  defending  counsel  to  do  their  best 
to  upset  the  officers'  reckoning,  and  prove  that  the 
suspected  craft  was  within  her  proper  and  legiti- 
mate limits.  Another  trick  which  sprang  up  also 
about  1815,  was  that  of  having  the  casks  of  spirits 
fastened,  the  one  behind  the  other,  in  line  on  a 
warp.  One  end  of  this  rope  would  be  passed 
through  a  hole  at  the  aftermost  end  of  the  keel, 
where  it  would  be  made  fast.  As  the  vessel  sailed 
along  she  would  thus  tow  a  whole  string  of  barrels 
like  the  tail  of  a  kite,  but  in  order  to  keep  the  casks 
from  bobbing  above  water,  sinkers  were  fastened. 
Normally,  of  course,  these  casks  would  be  kept  on 
board,  for  the  resistance  of  these  objects  was  very 
considerable,  and  lessened  the  vessel's  way.  Any 
one  who  has  trailed  even  a  fairly  thick  warp  astern 
from  a  small  sailing  craft  must  have  been  surprised 
at  the  difference  it  made  to  the  speed  of  the  vessel. 
But  so  soon  as  the  Revenue  cutter  began  to 
loom  big,  overboard  went  this  string  of  casks  towing 
merrily  below  the  water-line.  The  cutter  would 
run  down  to  her,  and  order  her  to  heave-to,  which 
she  could  afford  to  do  quite  willingly.  She  would 
be  boarded  and  rummaged,  but  the  officer  would  to 

his  surprise  find  nothing  at  all  and  be  compelled 

196 


THE   INCREASE   IN   SMUGGLING 

to  release  her.  Away  would  go  the  cruiser  to 
chase  some  other  craft,  and  as  soon  as  she  was 
out  of  the  range  of  the  commander's  spy-glass,  in 
would  come  the  tubs  again  and  be  stowed  drip- 
ping in  the  hold.  This  trick  was  played  many  a 
time  with  success,  but  at  last  the  cruisers  got  to 
hear  of  the  device  and  the  smugglers  were  badly 
caught.  I  shall  in  due  season  illustrate  this  by 
an  actual  occurrence.  What  I  want  the  reader  to 
bear  in  mind  is,  that  whilst  the  age  of  smuggling 
by  violence  and  force  took  a  long  time  to  die  out, 
yet  it  reached  its  zenith  about  the  middle  or  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Right  till 
the  end  of  the  grand  period  of  smuggling  violence 
was  certainly  used,  but  the  year  1815  inaugurated 
a  period  that  was  characterised  less  by  force  and 
armed  resistance  than  by  artfulness,  ingenuity,  and 
all  the  inventiveness  which  it  is  possible  to  employ 
on  a  smuggling  craft.  "  Smugglers,"  says  Marryat 
in  one  of  his  novels,  "  do  not  arm  now — the  service 
is  too  dangerous  ;  they  effect  their  purpose  by 
cunning,  not  by  force.  Nevertheless,  it  requires 
that  smugglers  should  be  good  seamen,  smart, 
active  fellows,  and  keen-witted,  or  they  can  do 
nothing.  .  .  .  All  they  ask  is  a  heavy  gale  or  a 
thick  fog,  and  they  trust  to  themselves  for  success." 
It  was  especially  after  the  year  1816,  when,  as  we 
shall  see  presently,  the  Admiralty  reorganised  the 
service  of  cruisers  and  the  Land-guard  was  tightened 

up,  that  the  smugglers  distinguished  themselves  by 

197 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

their  great  skill  and  resource,  their  enterprise,  and 
their  ability  to  hoodwink  the  Revenue  men.  The 
wars  w^ith  France  and  Spain  had  come  to  an  end, 
and  the  Government,  now  that  her  external 
troubles  allowed,  could  devote  her  attention  to 
rectifying  this  smuggling  evil.  This  increased 
watchfulness  plus  the  gradual  reduction  of  duties 
brought  the  practice  of  smuggling  to  such  a  low 
point  that  it  became  unprofitable,  and  the  increased 
risks  w^ere  not  the  equivalent  of  the  decreased  pro- 
fits. This  same  principle,  at  least,  is  pursued  in 
the  twentieth  century.  No  one  is  ever  so  foolish 
as  to  try  and  run  whole  cargoes  of  goods  into  the 
country  without  paying  Customs  duty.  But  those 
ingenious  persons  who  smuggle  spirits  in  foot- 
warmers,  saccharine  in  the  lining  of  hats,  tobacco 
and  cigars  in  false  bottoms  and  other  ways  carry 
out  their  plans  not  by  force  but  by  ingenuity,  by 
skill. 


198 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

Had  you  been  alive  and  afloat  in  June  of  1802 
and  been  cruising  about  near  Falmouth  Bay,  or 
taken  up  your  position  on  the  top  of  one  of  those 
glorious  high  cliffs  anywhere  between  St.  Anthony 
and  the  Dodman,  and  remembered  first  to  take 
with  you  your  spyglass,  you  would  have  witnessed 
a  very  interesting  sight ;  that  is  to  say,  if  you  had 
been  able  to  penetrate  through  the  atmosphere, 
which  was  not  consistently  clear  throughout  the 
day.  For  part  of  it,  at  any  rate,  was  hazy  and 
foggy  just  as  it  often  is  in  this  neighbourhood  at 
that  time  of  year,  but  that  was  the  very  kind  of  con- 
ditions which  the  smuggler  loved.  Between  those 
two  headlands  are  two  fine  bays,  named  respec- 
tively Gerrans  and  Veryan,  while  away  to  the 
south-west  the  land  runs  out  to  sea  till  it  ends  in 
the  Lizard.  A  whole  history  could  be  written  of 
the  smuggling  which  took  place  in  these  two  bays, 
but  we  must  content  ourselves  with  the  one 
instance  before  us. 

On  this  day  it   happened  that   his    Majesty's 
frigate  Fisgard  was  proceeding  up  Channel  under 

the  command  of  Captain  Michael  Seymour,  R.N. 

199 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

The  time  was  three  in  the  afternoon.  In  spite  of 
the  haziness  it  was  intermittent,  and  an  hour 
earlier  he  had  been  able  to  fix  his  position  by 
St.  Anthony,  which  then  bore  N.  by  W.  distant  six 
or  seven  miles.  He  was  then  sailing  by  the  wind 
close-hauled  lying  S.S.E.JE.,  in  other  words,  stand- 
ing away  from  the  land  out  into  mid-channel, 
the  breeze  being  steady.  By  three  o'clock  the 
Fisgard  had  only  travelled  about  another  six  or 
seven  miles,  so  that  she  was  now  about  \2\  miles 
from  St.  Anthony  or  just  to  seaward  of  the  Lizard. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  frigate  sighted  a 
smaller  craft,  fore-and-aft  rigged  and  heading 
N.N.W,,  also  on  a  wind,  the  breeze  being  abaft 
her  port,  or,  as  they  called  it  in  those  days,  the 
larboard-beam.  This  subsequently  turned  out 
to  be  the  cutter  Flora^  and  the  course  the  cutter 
was  taking  would  have  brought  her  towards  the 
Dodman.  The  haze  had  now  lifted  for  a  time, 
since  although  the  Flora  was  quite  eight  miles 
away  she  could  be  descried.  Knowing  that  this 
cutter  had  no  right  to  be  within  a  line  drawn 
between  the  Lizard  and  Prawl  Point,  the  Fisgard 
starboarded  her  helm  and  went  in  pursuit.  But 
the  Floras  crew  w^ere  also  on  the  look-out,  though 
not  a  little  displeased  that  the  fog  had  lifted  and 
revealed  her  position.  When  she  saw  that  the 
Fisgard  was  coming  after  her  she  began  to  make 
off,  bore  up,  and  headed  due  North.  But  presently 
she  altered  her  tactics  and  hauled   round  on  the 

200 


THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

starboard  tack,  which  would  of  course  bring  her 
away  from  the  land,  make  her  travel  faster  be- 
cause her  head-sails  would  fill,  and  she  hoped  also 
no  doubt  to  get  clear  of  the  Prawl-to-Lizard  line. 
Before  this  she  had  been  under  easy  sail,  but  now 
she  put  up  all  the  canvas  she  could  carry. 

But  unfortunately  the  Flora  had  not  espied 
earlier  in  the  day  another  frigate  which  was  also 
in  the  vicinity.  This  was  the  Wasso,  and  the 
haze  had  hidden  her  movements.  But  now,  even 
though  the  weather  was  clearing,  the  bigger  ship 
had  been  hidden  from  view  because  she  had  been 
just  round  the  corner  in  Mevagissey  Bay.  And  at 
the  very  time  that  the  Floixi  was  running  away 
from  the  Fisgard  and  travelling  finely  with  ev^ery 
sail  drawing  nicely  and  getting  clear  of  the  cliffs, 
the  Wasso  was  working  her  way  round  the  Dodman. 
As  soon  as  the  latter  came  into  view  she  took  in 
the  situation — the  cutter  Flora  foaming  along  out 
to  sea  and  the  Fisgard  coming  up  quickly  under 
a  mountain  of  canvas.  So  now  there  were  two 
frigates  pursuing  the  cutter,  and  the  Fiord's 
skipper  must  have  cursed  his  bad  luck  for  being 
caught  in  this  trap.  But  that  unkind  haze  was 
favouring  the  King's  ships  to-day,  for  ere  the  chase 
had  continued  much  longer,  yet  a  third  frigate 
came  in  sight,  whose  name  was  the  Nymph.  This 
was  too  much  for  the  Flora  to  be  chased  by  three 
ships  each  bigger  and  better  armed  than  herself. 

The  Nymph  headed  her  off,  and  the  cutter  seeing  it 

201 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

was  all  up  reluctantly  hove-to.  On  examination 
she  was  found  to  have  a  cargo  of  gin,  brandy,  and 
tobacco,  which  she  would  have  succeeded  in  run- 
ning ashore  had  the  haze  not  played  such  tricks. 
However,  she  had  done  her  best  for  three  exciting 
hours,   for   it   was   not   until  six  on   that  wintry 


The  Flora  with  the  Fisgard,  Wasso,  and  Nymph. 

evening  that  she  was  captured  by  the  Nymph,  and 

if  she  had  been  able  to  hold  on  a  little  longer  she 

might  have  escaped  in    the   night   and  got   right 

away  and  landed  her  cargo  elsewhere   before  the 

sun  came  out.     But,  as  it  was,  her  skipper  James 

Dunn  had  to  take  his  trial,  when  a  verdict  was 

given  in  favour  of  the  King,  and  Dunn  was  fined 

£200. 

We  must  pass  over  the  next  two  years   and 

travel  from  one  end  of  the  English  Channel  to  the 

202 


THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

other  till  we  find  ourselves  again  in  Kentish 
waters.  The  year  is  1804,  and  the  14th  of  June. 
On  this  summer's  day  at  dawn  the  gun-brig 
Jackal,  commanded  by  Captain  Stewart,  R.N.,  was 
cruising  about  to  the  Nor'ard  of  the  Goodwins. 
As  day  broke  he  was  informed  that  three  smug- 
gling vessels  had  just  been  espied  in  the  vicinity. 
The  latter  certainly  was  not  more  than  three  miles 
from  the  land,  and  it  was  fairly  certain  what  their 
intention  was.  When  Captain  Stewart  came  on 
deck  and  convinced  himself  of  their  identity  he 
ordered  out  his  boats,  he  himself  going  in  one, 
while  one  of  his  officers  took  command  of  another, 
each  boat  having  about  half-a-dozen  men  on  board. 

We  mentioned  just  now  how  important  it  was 
in  such  cases  as  this  that  the  position  should  be 
defined  as  accurately  as  possible.  Immediately 
the  boats  had  left  the  Jackal  the  pilot  of  the 
latter  and  one  of  the  crew  on  board  took  bearings 
from  the  North  Foreland  and  found  the  Jackal  was 
about  7f  miles  from  this  landmark.  They  also 
took  bearings  of  the  position  of  the  three  smug- 
gling luggers,  and  found  these  were  about  three  or 
four  miles  off  and  bore  from  the  Jackal  E.  by  S. 

To  return  to  Captain    Stewart   and   the  two 

boats :  for  the  first   twenty  minutes   these  oared 

craft  gained  on  the  luggers  owing  to  the  absence 

of  wind,  and  the  smugglers  could  do  nothing.     The 

dawn  had  revealed  the  presence  of  the  Jackal  to 

the  smugglers   no   less  than  the  latter   had  been 

203 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

revealed  to  the  gun-brig.  And  as  soon  as  the 
iUieit  carriers  realised  what  was  about  to  happen 
they,  too,  began  to  make  every  effort  to  get  moving. 
The  early  morning  calm,  however,  was  less  favour- 
able to  them  than  to  the  comparatively  light- 
oared  craft  which  had  put  out  from  the  Jackal, 
so  the  three  luggers  just  rolled  to  the  swell  under 
the  cliffs  of  the  Foreland  as  their  canvas  and  gear 
slatted  idly  from  side  to  side. 

But  presently,  as  the  sun  rose  up  in  the  sky,  a 
little  breeze  came  forth  which  bellowed  the  lug- 
sails  and  enabled  the  three  craft  to  stand  off  from 
the  land  and  endeavour,  if  possible,  to  get  out  into 
the  Channel.  In  order  to  accelerate  their  speed 
the  crews  laid  on  to  the  sweeps  and  pulled  man- 
fully. Every  sailorman  knows  that  the  tides  in 
that  neighbourhood  are  exceedingly  strong,  but 
the  addition  of  the  breeze  did  not  improve  matters 
for  the  Jackal's  two  boats,  although  the  luggers 
were  getting  along  finely.  However,  the  wind  on 
a  bright  June  morning  is  not  unusually  fitful  and 
light,  so  the  boats  kept  up  a  keen  chase  urged  by 
their  respective  officers,  and  after  three  hours  of 
strenuous  rowing  Captain  Stewart's  boat  came  up 
with  the  first  of  these  named  the  I.O.  But 
before  he  had  come  alongside  her  and  was  still  300 
yards  away,  the  master  and  pilot  of  this  smuggler 
and  six  of  her  crew  was  seen  to  get  into  the 
lugger's  small  boat  and  row  off  to  the  second 
lugger   named   the  Nancy,   which  they   boarded. 

204 


THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

When  the  Jackal's  commander,  therefore,  came 
up  with  the  I.O.  he  found  only  one  man  aboard 
her.  He  stopped  to  make  some  inquiries,  and  the 
sohtary  man  produced  some  Bills  of  Lading  and 
other  papers  to  show  that  the  craft  was  bound 
from  Emden  to  Guernsey,  and  that  their  cargo 
was  destined  for  the  latter  place. 

The  reader  may  well  smile  at  this  barefaced 
and  ingenuous  lie.  Not  even  a  child  could  be 
possibly  persuaded  to  imagine  that  a  vessel  found 
hovering  about  the  North  Foreland  was  really 
making  for  the  Channel  Isles  from  Germany. 
It  was  merely  another  instance  of  employing  these 
papers  if  any  awkward  questions  should  be  asked 
by  suspecting  Revenue  vessels  or  men-of-war. 
What  was  truth,  however,  was  that  the  I.O.  was 
bound  not  to  but  from  Guernsey,  where  she  had 
loaded  a  goodly  cargo  of  brandy  and  gin,  all  of 
which  was  found  on  board,  and  no  doubt  would 
shortly  have  been  got  ashore  and  placed  in  one  of 
the  caves  not  far  from  Longnose.  Moreover,  the 
men  were  as  good  as  convicted  when  it  was  found 
that  the  spirits  were  in  those  small  casks  or  tubs 
which  were  only  employed  by  the  smugglers ;  and 
indeed  never  had  such  a  cargo  of  spirits  to 
Guernsey  been  carried  in  such  small-sized  kegs, 
for  Guernsey  always  received  its  spirits  in  casks  of 
bold  dimensions. 

It  was  further  pointed  out  at  the  trial  that  the 
luggers  could  not  have  been  bound  on  the  voyage 

205 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

alleged,  for  they  had  not  enough  provisions  on 
board.  The  Solicitor-General  also  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  when  these  luggers  were  approached  in 
deep  water — that  is,  of  course  after  the  three  hours' 
chase — they  could  not  possibly  have  been  making 
for  Guernsey.  The  farther  they  stood  from  the 
shore  the  greater  would  be  their  danger,  for  they 
would  be  likely  at  any  hour  to  fall  in  with  the 
enemy's  privateers  which  were  known  to  be  cruis- 
ing not  far  off. 

But  to  return  to  the  point  in  the  narrative 
when  we  digressed.  Captain  Stewart,  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  before  finally  coming  up  with  the  /.O., 
had  fired  several  times  to  cause  her  to  heave-to, 
but  this  they  declined  to  do,  and  all  her  crew  but 
one  deserted  her  as  stated.  Leaving  one  of  his 
own  men  on  board  her  the  naval  officer,  after 
marking  her  with  a  broad  arrow  to  indicate  she 
had  been  seized,  went  with  his  four  remaining 
men  in  pursuit  of  the  second  lugger,  which  was 
rowing  away  with  all  haste,  and  alongside  which 
the  I.O.s  boat  was  lying.  But,  as  soon  as  Stewart 
began  to  approach,  the  men  now  quitted  the 
lugger  and  rowed  back  to  the  I.O.  He  opened 
fire  at  them,  but  they  still  persisted,  and  seeing 
this  he  continued  to  pursue  the  second  lugger, 
boarded  her  and  seized  her,  the  time  being  now 
about  6.30  a.m. 

Afterwards  he  waited  until  his  other  boat  had 

come   up,   and   left   her   crew   in   charge   of  this 

206 


THE    SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

second  lugger,  and  then  rowed  off  to  the  first  lugger 
again,  but  once  more  the  I.O.'s  people  deserted 
her  and  rowed  towards  the  shore.  Undaunted  he 
then  went  in  pursuit  of  the  third  lugger,  but  as 
a  breeze  came  up  she  managed  to  get  away. 
Presently  he  was  able  to  hail  a  neutral  vessel  who 
gave  him  a  passage  back,  and  at  midday  he  re- 
joined the  I.O.,  which  was  subsequently  taken 
captive  into  Dover,  and  at  a  later  date  ordered 
to  be  condemned.  She  had  belonged  to  Deal  and 
was  no  doubt  in  the  regular  smuggling  industry. 

Then  there  was  the  case  of  the  lugger  Polly, 
which  occurred  in  January  of  1808.  Because 
vessels  of  this  kind  were,  from  their  construction, 
their  size,  and  their  rig  especially  suitable  for 
running  goods,  they  were  now  compelled  to  have 
a  licence  before  being  allowed  to  navigate  at  all. 
This  licence  was  given  on  condition  that  she  was 
never  to  be  found  guilty  of  smuggling,  nor  to 
navigate  outside  certain  limits,  the  object  of  course 
being  to  prevent  her  from  running  backwards  and 
forwards  across  the  English  and  Irish  Channels. 
In  the  present  instance  the  Polly  had  been  licensed 
to  navigate  and  trade,  to  fish  and  to  carry  pilots 
between  Bexhill  and  coastwise  round  Great  Britain, 
but  not  to  cross  the  Channels.  To  this  effect  her 
master,  William  Bennett,  had  entered  in  a  bond. 
But  on  the  date  mentioned  she  was  unfortunately 
actually  discovered  at  the  island  of  Alderney,  and 

it  was  obvious  that  she  was  there  for  the  purpose 

207 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  loading  the  usual  cargo  of  goods  to  be  smuggled 
into  England.  Six  days  later  she  had  taken  on 
board  all  that  she  wanted,  but  just  as  she  was 
leavincr  the  Customs  officer  examined  her  licence  ; 
and  as  it  was  found  that  she  was  not  allowed  to 
"go  foreign,"  and  that  to  go  to  Alderney  had 
always  been  regarded  a  foreign  voyage,  she  was 
promptly  seized.  Furthermore,  as  there  was  no 
suggestion  of  any  fishing-gear  found  on  board  it 
was  a  clear  case,  and  after  due  trial  the  verdict  was 
given  for  the  King  and  she  was  condemned. 

There  is  existing  an  interesting  application 
from  the  boat-masters  and  fishermen  of  Robin 
Hood's  Bay  (Yorkshire)  in  connection  with  the 
restrictions  which  were  now  enforced  regarding 
luggers.  These  poor  people  were  engaged  in  the 
Yarmouth  herring-fishery,  and  prayed  for  relief 
from  the  penalties  threatened  by  the  recent  Act 
of  Parliament,  which  stipulated  that  luggers  of  a 
size  exceeding  50  tons  burthen  were  made  liable 
to  forfeiture.  As  their  North  Sea  craft  came 
under  this  category  they  were  naturally  in  great 
distress.  However  the  Customs  Board  pointed 
out  that  the  Act  allowed  all  vessels  and  boats  of 
the  above  description  and  tonnage  "  which  were 
rigged  and  fitted  at  the  time  of  the  passing  thereof 
and  intended  for  the  purpose  of  fishing"  to  be 
licensed. 

Whenever   those  tubs   of  spirits   were   seized 

from  a  smuggling  craft  at  sea  they  were  forwarded 

208 


THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

to  the  King's  warehouse,  London,  by  those  coast- 
ing vessels,  whose  masters  were  "  of  known  re- 
spectabiHty."  And  by  a  different  conveyance  a 
sample  pint  of  every  cask  was  to  be  transmitted 
to  the  same  address.  The  bungs  of  the  casks 
were  to  be  secured  with  a  tin-plate,  and  under 
a  seal  of  office,  each  cask  being  branded  with  the 
letters  "  G.R.,"  and  the  quantity  given  at  the 
head  of  each  cask.  But  those  spirits  which  were 
seized  on  land  and  not  on  sea  were  to  be  sold 
by  public  auction.  All  smuggling  transactions 
of  any  account,  and  all  seizures  of  any  magnitude, 
and  especially  all  those  which  were  attended  by 
any  attempt  to  rescue,  were  to  be  reported  separ- 
ately to  the  Customs  Board.  Small  casks  which 
had  contained  seized  spirits  were,  after  condemna- 
tion, sometimes  allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  smugglers,  who  used  them  again  for  the 
same  purpose.  To  put  a  stop  to  this  it  was 
ordered  that  these  tubs  were  in  future  to  be 
burnt  or  cut  to  pieces  "as  to  be  only  fit  for 
firewood." 

Even  as  early  as  1782  considerable  frauds  were 
perpetrated  by  stating  certain  imports  to  be  of 
one  nature  when  they  were  something  entirely 
different.  For  instance  a  great  deal  of  starch  had 
been  imported  under  the  denomination  of  flour 
from  Ireland.  The  Revenue  officers  were  there- 
fore instructed  to  discriminate  between  the  two 
articles  by  the  following  means.     Starch   "  when 

209  0 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

in  flour  "  and  real  flour  could  be  differentiated  by- 
putting  some  of  each  into  a  tumbler  of  water. 
If  the  "  flour "  were  starch  it  would  sink  to  the 
bottom  and  form  a  hard  substance,  if  it  were 
real  flour  then  it  would  turn  into  a  paste.  Starch 
was  also  much  whiter  than  flour.  And  a  good 
deal  of  spirits,  wine,  tea,  and  tobacco  brought  into 
vessels  as  ship's  stores  for  the  crew  were  also 
frequently  smuggled  ashore.  Particularly  was 
this  the  case  in  small  vessels  from  Holland, 
France,  Guernsey,  Jersey,  and  Alderney. 

One  day  in  the  month  of  May,  1814,  a  fine 
West  Indian  ship  named  the  Ccu^oUne  set  sail 
from  the  Island  of  St.  Thomas  with  a  valuable 
cargo  of  dutiable  goods,  and  in  due  time  entered 
the  English  Channel.  Before  long  she  had  run 
up  the  coast  and  found  herself  off"  Fairlight 
(between  Hastings  and  Rye).  The  people  on 
shore  had  been  on  the  look-out  for  this  ship,  and 
as  soon  as  the  Caroline  hove  in  sight  a  boat  put 
off"  to  meet  her.  Some  one  threw  down  a  line 
which  was  made  fast  to  the  boat,  and  from  the 
latter  several  men  clambered  aboard.  After  the 
usual  salutations  they  accompanied  the  master 
of  the  ship  and  went  below  to  the  cabin,  where 
some  time  was  spent  in  bargaining.  To  make 
a  long  story  short,  they  arranged  to  purchase 
from  the  Caroline  25  gallons  of  rum  and  some 
coffee,  for   which   the    West    Indiaman's   skipper 

was  well  paid,  the  average  price  of  rum  in  that 

210 


THE   SMUGGLERS   AT   SEA 

year  being  about  20s.  a  gallon.  A  cask  of  rum, 
3  cwt.  of  coffee  in  a  barrel  and  2  cwt.  in  a  bag 
were  accordingly  lowered  over  the  ship's  side  into 
the  boat  and  away  went  the  little  craft  to  the 
shore,   having,   as   it   was   supposed,  cheated   the 


''The  Caroline  continued  her  course  and  proceeded  to  London." 

Customs.  The  Caroline  continued  her  course  and 
proceeded  to  London.  The  Customs  authorities, 
however,  had  got  wind  of  the  affair  and  the 
matter  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  before  one 
of  his  Majesty's  judges. 

But  East  Indiamen  were  just  as  bad,  if  not 
a  great  deal  worse,  for  it  was  their  frequent  prac- 
tice to  arrive  in  the  Downs  and   sell  quantities 

of  tea  to  the  men  who  came  out  from  Deal  in 

211 


KTNCrS   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

small  craft.     The  conimodity  could  thou  be  kept 

cither    for  the   use   of  their  families   and  sold   to 

their   immediate   friends,   or  sent  up  to  London 

by  the  "  dulfers "  in  the  manner  we  spoke  of  in 

an  earlier  chapter.     Tn  the  instances  when  spirits 

were  smui^gled  into  the  country  there  was  usually 

some  arrangement  between  the  publicans  and  the 

smugglers  for  disposing  of  the   stuff.     But,   you 

may  ask,  how  did  the  Deal  boatmen  manage  to 

get  the  tea  to   their  homes  without   being   seen 

by  the  Customs  officers  ?     In  the  ffrst  place  it  was 

always  difficult  to  prove  that  the  men  really  were 

snuigglers,   for  they  would  be  quite  Avide-awake 

enough  not   to   bring  obvious  bales  ashore  ;   and, 

secondly,  the  Deal  men  had  such  a  reputation  as 

desperate  characters  that  no  officer,  unless  he  was 

pretty  sure  that  a  smuggling  transaction  was  being 

carried    on    and    could    rely,   too,    on    being   well 

supported  by  other  Customs  men  and  the  soldiers, 

would   think   of  meddling   in   the   matter.     But, 

lastly,  the  men  who  came  ashore  from  the  East 

Indiamen  had  a  smart  little  dodge  of  their  own 

for  concealing  the  tea. 

The    accompanying   picture    is    no   imaginary 

instance,   but    is    actually   taken    from   an  official 

document.     The  ffgure  is  supposed  to  represent 

one   of  these    Deal   boatmen,  and   the   numerals 

will   explain   the    methods   of   secreting   the   tea. 

(1)    Indicates    a  cotton  bag  which   was    made  to 

fit  the  crown   of  his   hat,  and   herein   could   be 

212 


THE   SMUGGI.ERS   AT   SEA 

carried  2  lbs.  of  tea.  He  would,  of  course,  have 
his  hat  on  as  he  came  ashore,  and  probably  it 
would  be  a  sou'wester,  so  there  would  be  nothing 
suspicious  in  that.     (2)  Cotton  stays  or  a  waist- 


4-  iHIdH  PlliCirS. 


How  the  Deal  Boatmen  used  to  Smuggle  Te:i  Ashore. 

coat  tied  round  the  body.  This  waistcoat  was 
fitted  with  plenty  of  pockets  to  hold  as  much 
as  possible.  (3)  This  was  a  bustle  for  the  lower 
part  of  the  body  and  tied  on  with  strings.  (4) 
These  were  thigh-pieces  also  tied  round  and  worn 
underneath  the  trousers.  When  all  these  con- 
cealments were  filled  the  man  had  on  his  person 

as  much  as  30  lbs.  of  tea,  so  that  he  came  ashore 

ai3 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

and  smuggled  with  impunity.  And  if  you  mul- 
tiply these  30  lbs.  by  several  crews  of  these  Deal 
boats  you  can  guess  how  much  loss  to  the 
Revenue  the  arrival  of  an  East  Indiamen  in  the 
Downs  meant  to  the  Revenue. 

Another  old  dodge,  tliough  different  in  kind, 
was  employed  by  a  smuggling  vessel  when  at  sea 
and  being  chased  towards  evening,  or  on  one  of 
those  days  when  the  atmosphere  is  hazy  or  foggy. 
To  prevent  her  canvas  being  a  mark  against  the 
horizon,  the  lugger  would  lower  her  sail,  and  her 
black  hull  was  very  difficult  to  distinguish  in  the 
gathering  gloom.  This  happened  once  when  the 
smuggling  cutter  Gloire,  a  vessel  of  38  tons 
burthen  belonging  to  Weymouth,  was  being  chased 
about  midnight  in  January  of  1816  by  the 
Revenue  cutter  Rose.  The  smuggler  had  hoped 
to  have  been  able  to  run  his  goods  ashore  at 
Bowen  Bottom,  Dorset,  but  the  Rose  was  too 
smart  for  him,  launched  her  galley,  and  seized  her 
with  a  full  cargo  of  half-ankers. 


214 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

If  the  reader  will  carry  his  mind  back  to  1787  he 
will  recollect  that  in  this  year  we  saw  a  reforma- 
tion in  the  system  of  the  Revenue  cruisers,  and  the 
practice  of  employing  hired  craft  was  discontinued. 
This  reformed  system  went  on  until  the  year  1816, 
when  a  highly  important  change  occurred  in  the 
administration  of  these  vessels. 

On  the  5th  of  April  in  that  year  all  the 
Revenue  cruisers  which  previously  had  been  under 
the  control  of  the  Board  of  Customs  now  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  Admiralty.  The  general 
object  was  to  adopt  more  effectual  means  for  put- 
ting a  stop  to  the  smuggling,  and  these  vessels 
were  of  course  to  be  employed  in  co-operation 
with  the  ships  of  his  Majesty's  Navy  afloat  and 
the  Revenue  officers  on  shore.  Due  notice  was 
accordingly  sent  from  the  Customs  office  informing 
the  commanders  of  cruisers  that  they  were  to  place 
themselves  under  the  orders  of  the  Admiralty  in 
the  future.  But  the  cost  of  these  cruisers  was 
still  to  be  borne  by  the  Customs  as  before. 

It  may  seem  a  little  curious  that  whereas  the 

Board  of  Customs  had  controlled  these  vessels  for 

215 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

about  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  this  sudden  cliange 
sliould  have  been  made.  But,  primarily,  any 
customs  organisation  must  belong  to  the  shore. 
The  employment  of  cruisers  was  in  its  origin  really 
an  afterthought  to  prevent  the  Crown  being 
cheated  of  its  dues.  In  other  words,  the  service  of 
sloops  and  cutters  was  a  kind  of  off-shoot  from  the 
service  on  land  It  was  only  because  the  smug- 
gling was  so  daring,  because  the  Crown  was  so 
regularly  robbed  that  some  means  of  dealing  with 
these  robbers  on  sea  and  on  even  terms  had  to 
be  devised.  But,  of  course,  with  the  Admiralty 
the  case  was  quite  different.  For  long  centuries 
that  department  had  to  deal  with  ships  and  every- 
thing therewith  connected.  Therefore  to  many  it 
seemed  that  that  department  which  controlled  the 
Navy  should  also  control  that  smaller  navy  com- 
prised by  the  Revenue  cruisers. 

At  this  date  we  must  recollect  that  the  Battle 
of  Waterloo  had  been  won  only  a  few  months, 
that  once  and  for  all  Napoleon  had  been  crushed 
and  broken,  that  at  last  there  had  come  peace  and 
an  end  of  those  wars  which  had  seemed  intermin- 
able. From  this  return  of  peace  followed  two 
facts.  Firstly,  the  European  ports  were  now 
opened  afresh  not  merely  to  honest  traders,  but  to 
the  fleets  of  smugglers  who  could  go  about  their 
work  with  greater  safety,  with  less  fear  of  being 
captured  by  privateers.  Thus  it  was  most  prob- 
able   that    as    the    English    Channel    was    now 

216 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

practically  a  clear  sphere  there  would  be  a  re- 
newed activity  on  the  part  of  these  men.  But, 
secondly,  it  also  followed  that  the  Admiralty, 
charged  no  longer  with  the  anxiety  and  vigilance 
which  a  naval  war  must  bring  with  it,  was  free  to 
devote  its  manifold  abilities,  most  especially  in 
respect  of  organisation,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Revenue  department.  At  one  and  the  same  time, 
then,  there  was  the  chance  of  greater  smuggling 
activity  and  a  more  concentrated  effort  to  put 
down  this  smuggling. 

Furthermore,  inasmuch  as  the  wars  had  ended 
the  Navy  needed  fewer  men.  We  know  how  it 
was  in  the  case  of  Naval  officers,  many  of  whom 
found  themselves  unemployed.  But  it  was  not 
less  bad  for  the  seamen,  many  of  whom  had 
drifted  into  the  service  by  the  way  we  have  seen 
— through  being  captured  smuggling  and  then 
impressed.  Returned  once  more  to  their  native 
haunts  after  long  separation,  was  it  likely  that 
having  done  so  much  roving,  fought  so  many 
battles,  sailed  so  many  miles,  passed  through  so 
many  exciting  incidents  that  they  would  quietly 
take  to  tilling  the  fields  or  gathering  the  crops  ? 
Some,  no  doubt,  did ;  others  applied  themselves  to 
some  other  industries  for  which  they  were  fitted. 
But  there  were  very  many  who  went  back  to  the 
occupation  of  the  smuggler.  They  had  heard  the 
call  to  sea,  and  since  fishing  was  in   a  bad  way 

they  must   resume   running  illicit  cargoes  again. 

217 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Agriculture  and  the  like  have  few  fascinations  for 
men  who  have  fought  and  roamed  the  sea  most 
of  their  lives.  So  when  some  enterprising  rascal 
with  enough  ready  capital  came  along  they  were 
more  than  prepared  to  take  up  the  practice  once 
more. 

That  was  how  the  matter  was  viewed  from 
their  side.  But  the  Government  were  determined 
that  an  evil  which  had  been  a  great  worry  for  at 
least  a  century  and  a  half  of  English  history  should 
be  stamped  out.  The  only  way  was  to  make  the 
smuggling  unprofitable.  Inasmuch  as  these  men 
for  the  most  part  made  their  profits  through  being 
able  to  undersell  the  fair  trader  (because  there 
were  no  Custom  duties  paid)  the  most  obvious 
remedy  would  have  been  to  lower  the  rates  of 
import  duties.  But  since  that  was  not  practicable, 
the  only  possible  alternative  was  to  increase  the 
dangers  and  risk  to  which  a  smuggler  must  expose 
himself. 

And  instantly  the  first  step,  then,  must  be 
towards  establishing  "  such  a  system  of  discipline 
and  vigilance  over  the  Revenue  cruisers  and  boats 
as  shall  give  the  country  the  benefit  of  their 
constant  and  active  services."  These  smuggling 
pests  must  be  sought  out,  they  must  never  be 
allowed  to  escape,  to  laugh  defiantly  at  the  Crown's 
efforts,  and  they  must  be  punished  severely  when 
captured.  It  was  therefore  deemed  by  the  Trea- 
sury   that    there    would    be   a   greater    efficiency 

218 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

in  these  cruisers  if  "  put  under  naval  watchful- 
ness and  discipline,  controlled  by  such  authority 
as  the  Department  of  the  Admiralty  may  think 
fit." 

The  change  came  about  as  stated,  and  the 
Admiralty  retained  in  the  service  those  officers  and 
crews  of  the  Rev^enue  cruisers  as  by  length  of 
service  and  in  other  ways  had  shown  that  they 
were  fit  and  efficient.  Those,  however,  who  had 
grown  too  old  for  the  work  were  superannuated. 
Similarly,  with  regard  to  the  Preventive  boatmen, 
these  were  also  taken  over  by  the  Admiralty,  but 
here,  again,  only  those  who  were  capable  were 
accepted,  while  for  the  others  "  some  moderate 
provision  "  was  made. 

On  the  last  day  of  July  in  that  year  were  sent 
out  the  regulations  which  the  Admiralty  had 
drawn  up  respecting  the  salaries,  wages,  victualling, 
&c.,  of  the  Revenue  cruisers.  These  may  be 
summarised  as  follows,  and  compared  with  rates 
which  have  been  given  for  previous  years.  They 
were  sent  addressed  in  each  case  to  the  *'  Com- 
mander of  His  Majesty's  Cruiser  employed  in  the 
prevention  of  smuggling." 

And  first  as  to  payment : 

(I.)  Cruisers  of  the  First  Class,  i.e.  of  140  tons 
burthen  and  upwards. 

Commander  to  have         .  .  .  <£150  per  annum 

1st  Mate  „  ...  80  „ 

2nd  Mate         „  ...  45         „ 

219 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

(II.)  CiiuisKRS  OF  THE  Second  Class,  i.e.  of  100  tons  and 
npwai'ds  but  under  140  tons. 

Commander  to  have         .  .  .     £130  per  annum 

1st  Mate  „  .  .  .  70         ,, 

2nd  Mate         „  ...  40         „ 

(III.)  Cruisers  of  the  Third  Class,  i.e.  of  less 
than   100  tons. 

Commander  to  have         .  .  .     £110  per  annum 

1st  Mate  „  .  .  .  60         „ 

(No  2nd  Mate) 

The   wages    of  the   following  persons  were  to 
remain  the  same  in  all  classes,  viz. : 

Deputed  Marhiers    .  .       £2     8s.  per  lunar  month 

Seamen    ....  20  v  jj 

Boys  .  .  .  .         10     0  per  annum 

Muster  books  were  ordered  to  be  kept  regu- 
larly, and  the  sum  of  Is.  6d.  was  allowed  to  the 
commander  a  day  for  each  man  borne  on  the  books 
and  actually  victualled,  to  provide  for  the  following 
proportion  of  provisions  : — 1 J  lbs.  of  meat,  1 J  lbs. 
of  bread,  J  gallon  of  beer.  The  commander  was  also 
allowed  3s.  a  day  for  his  own  victuals,  and  a  like  sum 
for  each  of  his  mates.  Allowance  was  made  for  a 
medicine  chest  to  the  extent  of  £3  annually.  All 
expenses  of  pilotage  were  to  be  paid  by  the  Navy, 
"but  the  commanders  and  mates  are  to  make 
themselves  acquainted  with  the  coasts,  &c.,  and 
no  general  pilot  will  be  allowed  for  more  than 
two  months  after  a  cruiser's  arrival  on  any  new 

station." 

220 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

And  there  is  now  a  notable  innovation,  which 
marked  the  advent  of  a  new  age.  Instead  of  the 
prevaiHng  hempen  cables  with  which  these  cruisers 
had  been  supplied  and  had  been  in  use  for  cen- 
turies among  our  ships,  these  cutters  were  ordered 
to  be  furnished  with  chain  cables  "  in  order  that 
the  vessels  may  have  the  less  occasion  for  going 
to  a  King's  Port  to  refit  or  make  purchases." 
If  a  man  were  injured  or  became  sick  whilst 
in  the  service  so  as  to  need  surgical  aid,  the 
expense  was  to  be  allowed.  And  in  order  still 
further  to  make  the  cruisers  independent  of  the 
shore  and  able  to  offer  no  excuse  for  running  into 
harbour  they  were  ordered  never  to  proceed  to 
sea  without  three  weeks'  provisions  and  water. 
As  to  the  widows  of  mariners,  they  were  to  receive 
£10  per  annum. 

So  much,  then,  for  the  new  conditions  of  ser- 
vice in  these  Revenue  craft  as  undertaken  by  the 
Admiralty.  Let  us  now  obtain  some  idea  of  the 
duties  that  were  attached  to  these  officers  and 
vessels.  The  commanders  were  directed  by  the 
Admiralty  to  make  themselves  familiar  with  the 
Acts  of  Parliament  for  the  prevention  of  smuggling, 
Orders  in  Council,  Proclamations,  &c.,  and  to  obey 
the  instruction  of  whatever  admiral  they  were 
placed  under,  as  also  the  commanders  of  any  of  his 
Majesty's  ships  whom  they  might  fall  in  with 
"  diverting  you  from  the  cruise  on  which  you  are 
employed." 

221 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Each  commander  was  assigned  his  own  particu- 
lar station  for  cruising,  and  he  was  never  to  lie 
in  any  harbour,  bay,  or  creek  unless  by  stress  of 
weather  or  other  unavoidable  necessity.  He  was 
to  keep  a  look-out  for  vessels  of  a  suspicious 
appearance,  which,  in  respect  of  size  and  build, 
appeared  to  be  adapted  for  smuggling.  Especially 
was  he  to  look  out  for  French  craft  of  this  descrip- 
tion. Having  arrested  them  he  was  to  hand  them 
over  to  the  nearest  man-of-war.  He  was  also  to 
keep  a  smart  look-out  for  the  smugglers'  practice 
of  sinking  goods  and  afterwards  creeping  for  them. 
The  cruisers  were  to  visit  the  various  creeks  and 
bays ;  and  whenever  weather  permitted  the  com- 
mander was  to  send  a  boat  and  crew  to  examine 
such  places  at  night.  And,  if  necessary,  the  crew 
were  to  remain  there  until  the  cruiser  came  to 
fetch  them  back  in  the  morning. 

Care  was  to  be  taken  that  the  smugglers  them- 
selves no  less  than  their  craft  and  goods  were  to 
be  captured,  and  the  commanders  of  these  cruisers 
were  to  co-operate  with  the  Land-guard  and  keep 
in  close  touch  with  the  Riding  officers  ashore  as 
well  as  the  ^Sitters  of  Preventive  boats,  and  to 
agree  upon  a  code  of  signals  between  them,  as,  for 
example,  by  making  false  fires  at  night  or  the 
hoisting  of  proper  colours  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  vessel  by  day,  so  that  the  shore  officers  might 
be  informed  of  any  suspicious  vessels  on  the  coast. 

These  cruisers  were  also  to  speak  with  all  the  ships 

222 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

with  which  they  fell  in,  and  to  direct  any  ships 
subject  to  quarantine  to  proceed  to  quarantine 
stations.  And  if  they  came  across  some  merchant- 
man or  other  vessel,  which  they  suspected  of 
smuggling,  the  cruiser  was  to  accompany  such 
craft  into  port.  And  they  were  enjoined  to  be 
particularly  careful  to  guard  East  India  ships  to 
their  moorings,  or  until,  the  next  station  having 
been  reached,  they  could  be  handed  over  to  the 
next  cruiser. 

The  commanders  of  the  cruisers  were  also  to  be 
on  their  guard  against  the  practice  in  vogue  among 
ships  that  had  been  to  Holland  and  France  with 
coals,  for  these  craft  were  especially  prone  on 
their  return  to  putting  dutiable  goods  into  light 
craft  from  London,  or  on  the  coast,  but  chiefly 
into  cobbles  or  small  fishing  craft  at  sea.  And 
even  when  it  should  happen  that  a  cruiser  had  to 
be  detained  in  port  for  repairs,  the  commander 
was  to  spare  as  many  officers  and  seamen  as 
possible  and  to  employ  these  in  keeping  a  regular 
watch  on  the  high  grounds  near  the  sea,  so  as  to 
watch  what  was  passing,  and,  if  necessary,  despatch 
a  boat  and  part  of  the  cruiser's  crew.  The  com- 
manders were  reminded  that  the  cruisers  were  not 
to  wear  the  colours  used  in  the  Royal  Navy,  but 
to  wear  the  same  ensigns  and  pendants  as  pro- 
vided by  the  Revenue  Board  under  24  Geo.  IH. 
c.  47,  sect.  23. 

On  a  previous  page  we  went  into  the  matter 
223 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  firing  at  the  smuggling  craft  with  shotted  or 
with  unsliotted  guns.  Now  among  the  instruc- 
tions which  were  issued  by  the  Admiralty  on  taking 
over  these  Revenue  cruisers  was  the  clear  order 
that  no  officer  of  a  cruiser  or  boat  was  justified 
in  shooting  at  a  suspected  smuggling  vessel  until 
the  former  shall  have  first  hoisted  his  pendant  and 
ensign,  nor  unless  a  gun  shall  have  been  first  fired 
as  a  signal.  The  date  of  this,  of  course,  was  1816. 
But  among  the  documents  preserved  at  the  Swan- 
sea Custom  House  there  is  an  interesting  letter 
dated  July  1806,  written  by  the  Collector  to  Mr. 
Hobhouse,  stating  that  a  INIr.  Barber,  the  sailing- 
master  of  the  Cleveland,  had  been  committed  for 
trial  on  a  charge  of  wilful  murder,  he  having  fired 
a  shot  to  cause  a  boat  to  bring-to  and  thus  killed 
a  man.  This,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the 
testimony  of  the  Sheerness  Coastguard,  to  which 
I  alluded  by  anticipation  and  shall  mention 
again,  seems  to  me  fairly  conclusive  that  in 
pj'actice  at  least  there  was  no  fixed  rule  as  to 
whether  the  first  gun  were  shotted  or  unshotted. 
At  the  same  time  the  above  quoted  instruction 
from  the  Admiralty,  although  loosely  worded, 
would  seem  to  have  meant  that  the  first  gun  was 
merely  to  be  of  the  nature  of  a  warning  signal  and 
no  shot  fired  in  this  first  instance. 

And  then,  again,  among  these  instructions 
cropped  up  the  reminder  that  in  times  past  com- 
manders  of  cruisers   had  not  been  wont  to  keep 

224 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

the  sea  in  bad  weather — a  period  when  the  condi- 
tions were  most  favourable  for  smugglers — but 
now  the  Admiralty  remarked  that  if  the  com- 
mander should  be  deficient  in  "  this  most  essential 
part  of  your  duty "  he  would  be  superseded. 
On  the  west  coasts  of  England  and  Scotland 
especially  some  of  the  commanders  had  been 
accustomed  in  former  years  to  pass  the  night  in 
some  harbour,  bar,  or  creek  instead  of  cruising  on 
their  station  and  counteracting  the  designs  of  the 
smugglers,  "  who  will  always  prefer  the  night  time 
for  carrying  on  his  operations."  Consequently  the 
Admiralty  now  strictly  charged  the  commanders 
to  cruise  during  the  night,  and  no  matter  of  private 
concern  must  serve  as  a  pretext  for  any  inter- 
mission. 

They  were  also  to  maintain  a  regular  com- 
munication with  the  commander  of  any  other 
vessel  with  which  they  had  been  instructed  to 
cruise  in  concert.  And  cruisers  were  to  be 
furnished  with  the  laws  relative  to  smuggling  and 
not  to  exceed  the  powers  vested  in  the  com- 
manders by  law.  As  to  any  un-Customed  or 
prohibited  goods  these  were  to  be  secured  in 
the  King's  Warehouse  at  the  next  port,  and 
care  was  to  be  taken  that  these  goods  remained 
undamaged  or  pilfered  by  the  crew.  And  after 
the  goods  had  been  thus  put  ashore  both  the 
commander   and   mate   were   carefully   to   search 

the  smuggling  vessel,  the  boxes,  and  bedding  of 

225  p 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

her  crew  to  sec  if  anything  had  been  kept 
back. 

Whenever  a  vessel  was  seized  at  sea  precau- 
tions must  be  taken  to  ascertain  the  distance  from 
the  shore  "  by  causing  two  points  of  land  to  be 
set,  and  the  bearings  thereof  to  be  noted  by  two  or 
more  of  your  officers  and  mariners  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  those  points  of  land,  so  that  each  of 
them  may  be  in  condition  to  swear  to  the  bear- 
ings from  the  note  taken  by  him  at  the  time,  to  be 
produced  by  him  upon  the  trial  of  the  vessels." 

Any  papers  found  on  board  the  smuggling 
craft  were  immediately  to  be  initialled  by  the 
persons  present,  and  no  cruiser  or  any  of  her  boats 
should  be  employed  in  carrying  passengers  or 
pleasure  parties.  The  commander  and  mate  were 
to  keep  separate  journals  of  all  the  proceedings  of 
the  cruiser  relating  to  wind  and  weather,  bearings, 
and  distances  from  the  land,  soundings,  &c.,  every 
twenty-four  hours  so  that  the  admiral  could  tell 
whether  the  cruisers  had  used  every  exertion  to 
suppress  smuggling,  or  had  been  negligent  and 
slack  in  their  duties.  For  this  purpose  the  twenty- 
four  hours  were  divided  into  three  parts  thus  : — 
Midnight  to  8  a.m.,  8  a.m.  to  4  p.m.,  and  4  p.m.  to 
midnight.  In  each  of  these  three  divisions  the 
commander  was  to  fix  his  position  by  cross- 
bearings  and  soundings  if  in  less  than  30  fathoms. 
This  was  to  be  done  a  little  before  sunrise,  at  noon, 
and  a  little  before  sunset,  provided  that  if  the  land 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

were  not  seen  or  the  cruiser  be  chasing  a  vessel, 
this  fact  was  to  be  noted  in  the  journal,  and  the 
bearings  and  soundings  were  to  be  taken  whenever 
the  land  should  be  seen.  An  exact  copy  of  this 
journal  was  to  be  sent  after  the  end  of  each  month 
to  the  admiral  under  whose  command  the  cruiser 
happened  to  be  placed. 

The  table  on  p.  228  is  an  example  of  the  journal 
of  one  of  these  craft,  and  will  show  instantly  the 
kind  of  record  which  was  kept. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1817,  the  Preventive 
boats  were  put  under  the  control  of  Captain 
Hanchett,  R.N.,  who  was  known  as  the  Con- 
troller-General of  the  Preventive  Boat  Service. 
There  was  an  effort  made  also  in  this  department 
to  obtain  increased  efficiency.  And  the  following 
articles  were  ordered  to  be  supplied  to  each  Pre- 
ventive boat : — one  small  flat  cask  to  hold  two 
gallons  of  fresh  water,  one  small  water-tight 
harness  cask  to  hold  provisions,  one  chest  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  one  Custom  House  Jack, 
two  "  spying-glasses "  (one  for  the  watch-house, 
the  other  for  the  boat),  one  small  bucket  for 
baling,  one  "  wall  piece,"  forty  rounds  of  cartridges, 
thirty  muskets  or  carbines,  preference  being  given 
to  carbines  with  musket-ball  bore  where  new  ones 
are  to  be  purchased,  twenty  light  pistols,  balls  in 
proportion  to  the  above,  bayonets,  cutlasses, 
pouches,  tucks,  small  hand  hatchets  for  cutting 
away   rigging,  musket  flints,   pistol   flints,   a  set 

227 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 


o 

o 
o 
O 

Cruising     in     station 
spoke  a  vessel  from  the 
Baltic  laden  with  hemp, 
&c.,    but    sea    running 
high,  did  not  board  her. 
Saw  H.M.  sloop  Chero- 
kee to  the  N.E.  at  9  a.m. 

a; 
3 

s 

OJ 

;h 

bJO 

o 
o 

Lost     sight     of    the 
Cherokee     standing     off 
and  on  in  St.  Andrews 
Bay.     Sent  out  the  boat 
with  Mr.  Jones,  second 
mate,  to  visit  the  creeks. 

Soundings 

IN 

Fathoms. 

o 

CO 

> 

o 

< 

CO 

G< 

Q 

<1 

S 
o 

1— ( 
H 

> 

o 

Bearings 
AND  Dis- 
tances IN 
Miles. 

W.N.W.  9 
miles 

S.W.  by  S. 
12  miles 

W.N.W.  5 

miles 

S.W.  by  W^ 

6  iniles 

S.  by  E.  8^ 

miles 
E.  by  S.  9 

miles 

Q 
;z; 

Red  Head 

Light,  Bell 
Rock 

Fifeness 
Isle  of  May 

CO          1j 

S      -ti  9 

At  Sea 

OR  IN 

Port. 

cu 

CO 

+-) 

<! 

a 
u 

o 
2? 

Q 

Day  of  the 

Week  and 

Month. 

July 
Monday 
1st.,  Morn- 
ing or  first 

part 

Noon  or 

second 

part 

Evening 

or  third 

part 

^28 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

of  implements  for  cleaning  arms,  a  set  of  rum- 
maging tools,  and  a  dark  "  lanthorn."  With  this 
full  inventory  these  open,  oared  boats  could  go 
about  their  work  for  long  spells  in  bays,  up  creeks 
and  estuaries,  on  the  prowl  for  the  smugglers 
by  night. 

Whenever  any  vessels  were  seized  and  con- 
demned a  full,  descriptive  account  was  sent  to 
London  regarding  their  size,  breadth,  depth, 
burthen,  age,  where  built,  draught,  scantlings, 
the  nature  of  the  wood,  how  fastened,  whether 
the  craft  appeared  strained,  how  many  guns  she 
carried,  what  was  the  probable  expense  of  having 
her  refitted,  how  long  she  would  last  when  this 
had  been  done,  whether  she  had  the  reputation 
for  rowing  or  sailing  quickly,  and  what  was  her 
value.  If  it  was  recognised  that  she  was  a  ser- 
viceable vessel  she  was  not  to  be  destroyed  but 
employed  in  the  Preventive  service. 

Among  the  names  of  the  Revenue  cutters 
about  this  time  were  the  Scorpion,  Enchantress, 
Jacobus,  and  Rattlesnake.  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  smuggling  now  going  on  in  Essex,  and  the 
last-mentioned  was  employed  to  watch  the  river 
Blackwater  in  that  district.  Lieutenant  Neame, 
R.N.,  was  also  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  Black- 
water  with  the  lugger  Fortune,  and  arrived  there 
to  take  charge  of  the  Rattlesnahe.  This  was  in 
September  1818 ;  and  here  let  us  remark  that 
although   the  Preventive  Water-guard  originally 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

had  charge  of  the  whole  coast  of  England,  yet 
a  few  months  before  the  above  date — it  occurred 
actually  in  July  1817 — the  staff  between  the 
North  and  South  Forelands  was  withdrawn,  and 
this  part  of  the  coast  was  placed  under  the  charge 
of  the  Coast  Blockade,  Under  the  arrangement 
of  18 IG,  when  the  cruisers  had  been  put  under 
the  care  of  the  Admiralty,  the  Preventive  Water- 
guard  had  come  under  the  authority  of  the  Treasury, 
but  now,  in  1817,  came  the  change  mentioned. 
Towards  the  close  of  1818  this  Coast  Blockade, 
instead  of  being  confined  merely  to  that  coast 
between  the  two  Forelands,  was  extended  till  it 
reached  on  the  one  side  Shellness  by  the  mouth 
of  the  East  Swale,  and  on  the  other  right  away 
down  Channel  to  Cuckmere  Haven  (between 
Newhaven  and  Beachy  Head). 

The  history  of  this  change  may  be  summed 
up  as  follows.  It  was  suggested  in  the  year 
1816  by  Captain  M'Culloch  of  H.M.S.  Ganymede 
(which  was  one  of  the  vessels  employed  in  the 
prevention  of  smuggling  between  Dungeness  and 
North  Foreland)  that  it  would  be  advantageous 
to  land  the  crews  of  the  vessels  employed  on 
the  cruisers  and  Naval  ships  engaged  in  preventing 
smuggling.  The  men  were  to  be  put  ashore 
every  day  just  after  sunset  and  so  form  a  guard 
along  the  coast  during  the  night.  In  the  morning, 
just  before  sunrise,  the  men  were  to  be    put  on 

board  their  ships  once  more.     So  the  experiment 

230 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

was  tried  and  was  found  to  be  so  successful  that 
this  method  of  guarding  the  coast  was  adopted 
by  a  Treasury  Minute  of  June  19,  1817.  The 
district  between  the  Forelands  was  assigned  to 
Captain  M'Culloch,  who  had  with  him  the  officers 
and  crew  of  H.M.S.  Sevei^n.  Those  boats  and 
men  which  had  belonged  to  the  Preventive  ser- 
vice stationed  between  the  Forelands  were  with- 
drawn, and  the  entire  protection  of  this  district 
was  left  to  Captain  M'CuUoch's  force.  This 
was  known  as  the  Coast  Blockade,  and  was  after- 
wards extended  as  just  mentioned  to  Sheppey 
and  Seaford. 

If  we  may  anticipate  for  a  moment  in  order 
to  preserve  continuity,  let  us  add  that  in  the  year 
1821  this  span  of  coast  was  divided  into  three, 
each  division  being  subdivided  into  four  districts. 
The  divisions  were  under  the  superintendence  of 
a  senior  lieutenant,  a  midshipman,  one  petty 
officer  of  the  first  class  and  one  of  the  second. 
The  districts,  on  the  other  hand,  were  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  junior  lieutenant.  The  men 
were  divided  into  parties  of  ten,  each  party  having 
about  a  mile  of  coastline,  and  guard-houses  were 
established  along  the  coast  at  a  distance  of  about 
every  four  miles.  The  seamen  volunteered  into  the 
service,  and,  if  found  effective,  of  good  character, 
but  had  no  relatives  in  the  neighbourhood,  they 
were  accepted.     The  object  of  this  last  condition 

was  to  prevent  their  showing  any  sympathy  with 

231 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  smuffMers  of  the  district.  These  men  under- 
took  to  serve  for  three  years,  and  for  payment  of 
wages  they  were  borne  on  the  books  of  any  of  his 
Majesty's  ships. 

We  can  thus  see  how  gradually  the  influence 
of  the  Admiralty  had  been  exerted  over  the  Pre- 
ventive work  which  had  been  carried  on  by  the 
Customs.  There  are  then  three  steps.  First  in 
assisting  the  Revenue  cruisers,  and,  lastly,  by  taking 
charge  of  the  Land-guard.  The  proof  of  the  wisdom 
of  this  change  was  seen  in  results,  for  the  Revenue 
derived  better  protection  because  of  the  Admiralty 
influence.  There  was  better  discipline,  greater 
activity,  and  a  smarter  look-out  was  kept.  Thus  it 
came  about  that  in  that  very  south-eastern  district 
which  had  been  for  so  long  a  time  notorious  for  its 
nefarious  trade,  the  smugglers  found  their  calling 
a  very  difficult  one.  And  both  these  changes  in 
respect  of  cruisers  and  Land-guard  had  been  made 
certainly  not  with  the  enthusiastic  support  of  the 
Board  of  Customs,  who  had  indeed  expressed  their 
doubts  as  to  whether  such  a  transformation  were 
prudent. 

Some   idea   of  the   number   of  his   Majesty's 

ships   and   vessels   which   were   employed   in   the 

prevention  of  smuggling  in  the  year    1819  may 

be  gathered  from  the  following  list.     It  should, 

however,  be  mentioned  that  these  did  not  include 

the    numbers    of   Custom    House   cruisers   which 

the  Admiralty  had   begun   to  control,  but  were 

232 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

actually  the  Naval  ships  which  aided  those  of  the 
Revenue  : — 

Plymouth  supplied  10  ships  and  4  tenders 
Portsmouth      ,,  8  ,,         3        „ 

Sheerness         ,,  S  „  2        „ 

Leith  „  7  ,,  1  tender 

Ireland  ,,        12  ,,  1        „ 

at  a  total  cost  of  £245,519.  But  it  should  also  be 
borne  in  mind  that  these  ships  of  the  Navy,  or  at 
any  rate  by  far  the  greater  number  of  them,  would 
have  been  in  commission  whether  employed  or  not 
in  the  prevention  of  smuggling,  and  in  certain 
cases  these  ships  were  employed  in  the  Preventive 
service  for  only  a  part  of  the  year.  Without  the 
Revenue  cutters  the  Navy  could  not  possibly  have 
dealt  with  the  smugglers,  and  this  was  actually 
admitted  in  a  Treasury  Minute  of  January  15, 
1822.  The  total  number  of  Revenue  cruisers 
employed  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  during  the 
year  1819,  as  distinct  from  the  ships  of  the  Royal 
Navy,  amounted  to  69.  The  following  year  this 
number  had  increased  to  70.  These  were  appor- 
tioned thus : — 

20  under  the  Commander-in-Chief  at  Sheerness 

11  ,,  „  ,,  ,,   Portsmouth 
14           „                     „              „  „   Plymouth 

12  „  „  „  „  Leith 
11  were  employed  in  Ireland 

2  were  employed  by  tlie  Commissioners  of  Customs 

70 

233 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

To  sum  up  then  with  regard  to  the  Preventive 
Water-guard,  let  us  state  that  this  had  been  consti- 
tuted in  1809  to  supplement  the  efforts  of  the 
cruisers  and  Riding  officers,  the  coast  of  England 
and  Wales  being  divided  into  three  parts,  and 
placed  under  the  control  of  Inspecting  Commanders. 
Under  this  arrangement  were  included  the  Revenue 
cruisers  themselves.  Then  in  1816  the  Admiralty 
had  taken  over  these  cruisers  from  the  Preventive 
AVater-guard,  and  the  following  year  the  Coast 
Blockade  had  taken  over  that  portion  of  the  coast 
between  the  Forelands,  to  be  extended  in  1818  to 
Shellness  and  Seaford  respectively. 

The  sphere  of  activity  on  the  part  of  the  Pre- 
ventive Water-guard  was  thus  by  the  year  1819 
considerably  curtailed,  and  from  the  instructions 
which  were  now  issued  to  the  Inspecting  Com- 
manders we  can  see  how  the  rest  of  the  coastline 
other  than  that  section  just  considered  was  dealt 
with.  Each  station  consisted  of  one  chief  officer, 
one  chief  boatman,  two  commissioned  boatmen, 
and  four  established  boatmen.  There  was  a  six- 
oared  boat  with  her  rudder  and  wash-boards — 
"  wash-streaks  "  they  are  officially  called — a  five- 
fathom  rope  as  a  light  painter,  eight  good  ash  oars, 
two  boat-hooks.  She  was  a  sailing  craft,  for  she 
was  provided  with  a  fore-mast,  main-mast,  and 
mizzen-mast,  with  "  haul-yards,"  travellers,  down- 
hauls,  sheets,  &c.     Her  canvas  consisted  of  foresail, 

mainsail,  and  mizzen  with  a  yard  for  each.     She 

234 


THE   WORK  OF   THE   CUTTERS 

carried  also  a  jib,  the  casks  for  water  and  provisions, 
a  boat's  "  bittacle  "  (  =  binnacle),  with  compass  and 
lamp.  She  was  further  furnished  with  a  couple  of 
creeping  irons  for  getting  up  the  smugglers'  kegs, 
a  grapnel,  a  chest  of  arms  and  ammunition,  the 
Custom  House  Jack  and  spy-glass  as  already 
mentioned. 

This  vessel  was  rigged  as  a  three-masted  lugger 
with  a  jib.  There  is  no  mention  of  a  bowsprit,  so 
either  one  of  the  oars  or  a  boat-hook  would  have 
to  be  employed  for  that  purpose.  In  addition  to 
this  larger  boat  there  was  also  on  the  station  a 
light  four-oared  gig  fitted  with  mast,  yard  (or 
*'  spreet "),  a  7  lb.  hand  lead,  20  fathoms  of  line  for 
the  latter,  as  well  as  ballast  bags  to  fill  with  stones 
or  sand.  If  the  established  crews  were  inadequate 
during  emergency  extra  men  could  be  hired.  The 
boats  were  painted  twice  a  year,  but  "  always  to  be 
completed  before  the  bad  weather  sets  in,  and  the 
colours  to  be  assimilated  as  near  as  possible  to  those 
used  by  the  natives  and  smugglers  which  frequent 
the  coast  which  are  least  conspicuous." 

If  any  of  the  established  boatmen  intermarried 
with  families  of  notorious  smugglers  the  Inspect- 
ing Commander  was  to  send  information  to  the 
Controller-General.  Furthermore,  no  one  was  to 
be  appointed  to  any  station  within  twenty  miles 
of  his  place  of  birth  or  within  twenty  miles  of  the 
place  where  he  had  resided  for  six  months  previous 
to  this  appointment. 

235 


KINCx'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

The  name,  colour,  rig,  and  other  description  of 
any  vessel  about  to  depart  on  a  smuggling  trip  or 
expected  to  arrive  with  contraband  goods  on  the 
coast  were  to  be  given  by  the  Inspecting  Com- 
mander both  to  the  admirals  commanding  the 
men-of-war  off  the  coast  in  that  neighbourhood, 
to  the  captains  and  commanders  of  any  men-of-war 
or  Revenue  cruisers,  and  also  to  the  Inspecting 
Commander  of  the  Preventive  Water-guard  on 
either  side  of  him.  And  in  order  to  keep  the  men 
up  to  their  duties  the  Preventive  stations  were  to 
be  inspected  often,  and  at  certain  times  by  day  and 
night.  The  Inspecting  Commanders  were  to  per- 
form their  journeys  on  horseback  and  to  proceed 
as  much  as  possible  by  the  sea-coast,  so  as  to  be- 
come well  acquainted  with  the  places  where  the 
smugglers  resort. 

The  officers  and  boatmen  were  ordered  to  reside 
as  near  their  duty  as  possible  and  not  to  lodge  in 
the  houses  of  notorious  smugglers.  Officers  and 
men  were  also  to  be  private  owners  of  no  boats 
nor  of  shares  in  public-houses  or  fishing-craft.  The 
Inspecting  Commanders  were  to  report  the  nature 
of  the  coast,  the  time,  the  manner,  and  the  method 
in  respect  of  the  smuggling  generally  carried  on 
in  the  district.  If  there  were  any  shoals  or  rocks, 
not  generally  laid  down  or  known,  discovered  when 
sounding  to  possess  a  diffisrent  depth  of  water,  or 
if  anything  should  occur  which  might  be  useful 
for  navigating  the  coasts  of  the  kingdom,  then  cross 

236 


THE   WORK   OF   THE   CUTTERS 

bearings  were  to  be  taken  and  noted.  These  men 
were  also  to  render  every  assistance  in  case  of 
wrecks  and  to  prevent  goods  being  smuggled  there- 
from into  the  country.  If  any  of  these  Preventive 
boatmen  were  wounded  in  fighting  with  a  smuggler 
they  were  to  be  paid  full  wages  for  twenty-eight 
days  or  longer,  and  a  reasonable  surgeon's  bill 
would  be  also  paid. 

And  to  prevent  any  possible  excuse  for  dis- 
continuing a  chase,  the  boat  was  never  to  leave  the 
beach  without  the  two-gallon  keg  of  fresh  water. 
And  to  prevent  any  obvious  possibility,  this  boat 
was  never  to  be  left  by  day  or  night  without  one 
of  the  boat's  crew  to  guard  it.  The  latter  was 
always  to  have  ready  some  sort  of  floating  buoy, 
"  loaded  at  one  end  and  a  piece  of  bunting  at  the 
other,"  for  marking  the  place  where  goods  might 
be  thrown  overboard  in  a  chase.  The  Inspecting 
Commanders  were  also  to  be  on  their  guard  against 
false  information,  which  was  often  given  to  divert 
their  attention  from  the  real  place  where  the 
smuggling  was  occurring. 

"As  night  is  the  time  when  smugglers 
generally  run  their  cargoes,  it  is  expected  that  the 
boat,  or  her  crew,  or  the  greater  part  of  them  will 
be  out,  either  afloat  or  on  land,  as  often  as  circum- 
stances will  permit,  which  must  be,  at  least,  five 
nights  a  week."  They  were  ordered  generally  to 
co-operate  with  the  Revenue  cruisers  and  to  keep 

a  journal  of  all  proceedings.     When  out  at  night 

237 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

time  they  were  to  have  a  candle  and  "  lanthorn  " 
in  the  boat  as  well  as  the  boat's  "  bittacle,"  and 
not  to  rummage  a  vessel  without  the  candle  being 
carefully  secured  in  the  lanthorn  to  prevent  acci- 
dent by  fire.  All  suspicious  ships  were  to  be 
rummaged,  and  whenever  the  weather  would  not 
permit  of  the  boat  keeping  the  sea,  the  crew  and 
Inspecting  Commander  were  to  keep  a  look-out 
by  land.  Even  as  late  as  1819,  when  the  great 
wars  had  come  to  an  end,  it  was  found  that  the 
transfer  of  smugglers  to  the  Navy  had  continued 
to  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  protecting  the 
Revenue.  The  sum  of  £20  was  granted  for  each 
smuggler  taken,  and  this  was  paid  to  the  individual 
or  individuals  by  whom  or  through  whose  means 
the  smuggler  was  absolutely  secured,  and  it  was 
not  to  be  paid  to  the  crew  in  general.  But  when 
chasing  a  smuggling  craft,  whether  by  night  or 
day,  they  were  not  to  fire  at  the  delinquents  until 
the  Custom  House  Jack  had  been  displayed.  The 
salary  of  each  Inspecting  Commander,  it  may  be 
added,  was  now  £200  per  annum  and  £60  for  the 
first  cost  and  upkeep  of  an  able  horse. 


238 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    PERIOD    OF   INGENUITY 

Just  as  there  had  been  a  great  improvement  in 
the  reorganisation  brought  about  by  the  advent  of 
the  Coast  Blockade,  so  the  Preventive  service  on 
shore  generally  was  smartened  up.  That  this  was 
so  is  clear  from  the  existing  correspondence.  For 
instance,  five  more  Preventive  boats  were  to  be 
stationed  between  Shellness  and  Southwold,  and 
three  between  Cuckmere  Haven  and  Hayling 
Island ;  another  boat  was  sent  to  Newton  (York- 
shire), another  to  Dawlish  (Devonshire),  and 
another  to  Happisburgh  (Norfolk)  or,  as  it  was 
then  spelt,  Hephisburg. 

Some  idea  of  the  activity  of  the  cruisers  may 
be  seen  from  the  number  of  smugglers  which  these 
craft  had  been  able  to  capture.  The  reader  will 
recollect  that  during  the  year  ending  October  1, 
1810,  the  highest  number  of  smugglers  handed 
over  to  the  Navy  was  thirteen,  and  this  was  done 
by  Captain  Gunthorpe  of  the  Excise  cutter  Viper. 
He  thus  became  entitled  to  the  sum  of  £500.  It 
will  be  remembered  also  that  it  was  afterwards 

decided  that,  beginning  in  1812,  £500  would  be 

239 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

paid  only  if  the  number  captured  was  not  less  than 

twenty.     But   now   from   a   Treasury  JNlinute  of 

October  20, 1818,  we  find  that,  although  the  former 

number  of  captures  was  over  thirteen,  it  was  just 

under  twenty.     And,  here  again,  Captain  Matthew 

Gunthorpe,    this   time    commanding    the    Excise 

cutter  Vigilant,  and  Captain  Robert  Hepburn  of 

the  Excise  cutter  Regent,  in  the  year  1816  seized 

nineteen  smugglers  each,  or  a  total  of  thirty-eight. 

As  neither  captain  had  reached  the  twenty  and 

both  were  equal,  it  was  decided  to  add  the  second 

and  third  rewards  together  {i.e.  £300  plus  £200) 

and  to  give  £250  to  Captain  Gunthorpe,  officers 

and  crew,  and  £250  to  Captain  Hepburn,  officers 

and  crew.     And  there  is  on  record  at  this  time  a 

memorial  from  one  W.  Blake,  the  son  of  W.  Blake, 

senior.     The  last-mentioned  had  been  commander 

of  the  cutter  Nimble,  but  was  drowned  in  1816. 

His  son  now  prayed  for  the  reward  of  £300  to  be 

paid  to   the   family  of  the   deceased,  as  he  had 

captured  sixteen  smugglers. 

After  the  Admiralty  had  taken  over  the  Revenue 

cruisers  they  did  not  neglect  to  sanction  a  pension 

system,  and  the  following  scheme  was  embraced : — 

Commanders  of  cruisers  on  retiring  were  to  have 

from  £91,  5s.  to  £155,  2s.  6d.  per  annum,  according 

to   their   length   of  service;  and   for  any  wound 

received  they  were  to  have  an  additional  £91,  5s. 

per  annum.     First  mates  were  pensioned  after  five 

years'  service  at  the  rate  of  £35  a  year,  but  after 

240 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

thirty  years'  service  they  were  to  have  £85  a  year 
as  pension.  And  so  it  was  arranged  for  all  ratings 
down  to  the  boys.  The  widow  of  a  commander 
killed  or  drowned  in  the  service  was  allowed  £65 
a  year. 

And  now  that  we  are  in  that  period  after  the 
year  1815  we  must  not  fail  to  bear  in  mind  that 
this  is  the  epoch  when  the  smugglers  were  using 
ingenuity  in  preference  to  force.  The  busiest  part 
had  yet  to  come  and  did  not  occur  till  the  third 
decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  But  even  from 
the  time  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo  until,  say,  about 
1825  there  were  ten  years  in  which  the  smugglers 
left  no  device  untried  which  they  could  conceive 
to  enable  them  to  outdo  the  Revenue  authorities. 
And  we  may  now  proceed  to  give  actual  instances 
of  these  ingenious  attempts. 

We  begin  with  the  early  part  of  1816.     At  this 

time  the  Tide-Surveyor  at  one  of  the  out-ports  had 

reason  to  suspect  that  the  French   market-boats 

which  used  to  sail  across  to  England  were  in  the 

habit  of  bringing  also  a  good  deal  of  silks  and  other 

prohibited  goods.     At  last  he  went  on  board  one 

of  these  craft  and  immediately  after  she  had  arrived 

he  caused  the  whole  of  her  cargo  to  be  put  ashore. 

He  then  searched  her  thoroughly  from  deck  to 

keelson,  but  he  found  nothing  at  all.     However, 

he  was  determined  not  to  give  up  his  quest,  and 

had  part  of  her  ceiling  examined  minutely,  and  was 

then  surprised  to  note  that  some  fresh  nails  had 

241  Q 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

apparently  been  driven.  He  therefore  caused  the 
ceihng  to  be  ripped  off,  when  he  discovered  that 
a  large  variety  of  contraband  goods  had  been 
neatly  stowed  between  the  ship's  timbers. 

It  was  only  a  few  months  later  in  that  same 
year  that  another  Revenue  officer  boarded  a  Dutch 
schuyt  which  was  bound  from  Amsterdam  to 
London.  Her  cargo  consisted  of  500  bundles  of 
bulrushes,  but  on  making  his  examination  these 
innocent  articles  were  found  to  conceal  between 
the  rushes  forty-five  boxes  of  glass  in  illegal  pack- 
ages, and  also  some  other  prohibited  goods  which 
had  been  shipped  from  the  United  Kingdom  for 
exportation  and  were  intended  to  have  been  again 
clandestinely  relanded. 

The  reader  will  remember  our  mentioning  the 
name  of  Captain  M'Culloch  just  now  in  connection 
with  the  Coast  Blockade.  Writing  on  the  2nd  of 
April,  1817,  from  on  board  H.M.S.  Ganymede 
lying  in  the  Downs,  this  gallant  officer  stated  that, 
although  it  was  known  that  the  smugglers  had 
constructed  places  ashore  for  the  concealment  of 
contraband  goods  under  the  Sand  Hills  near  to 
No.  1  and  No.  2  batteries  at  Deal,  yet  these  hiding- 
places  were  so  ingeniously  formed  that  they  had 
baffled  the  most  rigid  search.  However,  his  plan 
of  landing  crews  from  his  Majesty's  ships  to  guard 
this  district  (in  the  manner  previously  described) 
had  already  begun  to  show  good  results.     For  two 

midshipmen,  named  respectively  Peate  and  Newton, 

242 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

commanding  the  shore  parties  in  that  neighbour- 
hood, had  succeeded  in  locating  five  of  those  places 
of  concealment. 

"This  discovery,"  continued  the  despatch,  "I  am 
assured  will  be  a  most  severe  blow  to  the  smugglers, 
as  they  were  enabled  to  remove  their  cargoes  into 
them  in  a  few  minutes,  and  hitherto  no  person 
besides  themselves  could  form  any  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  their  store-holes  were  built.  They 
are  generally  4  feet  deep,  of  a  square  form  and 
built  of  a  2-inch  plank,  with  the  scuttle  in  the 
top,  into  which  a  trough  filled  with  shingle  is  fitted 
instead  of  a  cover  to  prevent  their  being  found  out 
by  pricking  ;  and  I  understand  they  were  built 
above  two  years  ago.  I  have  ordered  them  to  be 
destroyed,  and  parties  are  employed  in  searching 
for  such  concealments  along  the  other  parts  of  the 
beach."  Thus,  thanks  to  the  Navy,  the  smugglers 
had  been  given  a  serious  repulse  in  the  most 
notorious  district. 

Then  there  was  also  the  danger  of  collusive 
smuggling.  For  instance,  when  a  smuggler  had 
been  frustrated  from  successfully  landing  a  cargo 
of  spirits  from  a  small  foreign  vessel  or  boat  he 
might  go  and  give  information  to  a  Custom  officer 
so  that  he  might  have  the  goods  seized  by  the 
latter,  the  arrangement  being  that  the  smuggler 
should  be  paid  a  fair  portion  of  the  reward  which 
the  officer  should  receive  for  the  seizure.  Inas- 
much as  the  officers'  rewards  were  by  no  means 

243 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

inconsiderable  this  method  might  fully  indemnify 
the  smuggler  against  any  loss. 

Just  before  Christmas  of  1819  the  Custom 
officers  at  Weymouth  seized  on  board  a  vessel 
named  TJie  Three  Bi'otliers  sixteen  half-ankers  and 
seven  small  kegs  or  flaggons  of  foreign  spirits. 
These  were  found  to  be  concealed  under  a  platform 
of  about  nine  feet  in  length  fitted  on  either  side  of 
the  keelson,  and  of  sufficient  height  for  one  cask. 
Its  breadth  was  such  as  to  allow  of  two  casks  and 
a  flaggon.  When  full  this  secret  hiding-place 
would  contain  about  thirty  casks  in  all.  The  whole 
concealment  was  covered  with  stone  and  iron 
ballast.  The  platform  was  fitted  with  false  bulk- 
heads and  filled  up  with  large  stones  so  as  to  avoid 
suspicion,  the  entrance  to  which  was  made  (after 
removal  of  the  ballast)  from  the  bottom  of  the 
forecastle  through  two  bulkheads  about  two  feet 
apart. 

Another  instance  was  that  of  a  consignment  of 
four  cases  which  had  come  over  from  France. 
These  cases  contained  plaster  figures  and  appeared 
to  be  hollow.  However,  the  Custom  officers  had 
their  suspicions  and  decided  to  perforate  the 
plaster  at  the  bottom  with  an  auger.  After  mak- 
ing still  larger  holes  there  were  extracted  from 
inside  the  following  amazing  list  of  articles  : — Two 
clock  movements,  six  pieces  of  bronze,  thirty-two 
pieces  of  porcelain,  and  two  small  paintings. 

A  certain  other  French  craft  was  boarded  by 
244 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

the  Revenue  officers  who,  on  measuring  her  range 
of  deck  and  also  under  it  including  the  bulkheads, 
found  a  greater  difference  than  the  rake  would 
fairly  account  for.  They  were  naturally  highly 
suspicious  and  proceeded  to  take  down  part  of  the 
bulkhead  aft,  when  they  discovered  that  this  bulk- 
head was  not  single  but  double,  being  between  the 
cabin  and  the  hold.  This  bulkhead  was  made  of 
solid  oak  planking  and  was  2  feet  10  inches  thick. 
It  was  securely  nailed,  and  the  cavity  thus  made 
extended  from  one  side  of  the  hull  to  the  other, 
giving  a  breadth  of  7  feet  2  inches,  its  length  being 
about  2  feet  2  inches,  and  the  height  3  feet  6 
inches.  It  will  thus  be  readily  imagined  that  a 
good  quantity  of  spirits,  wine,  and  plums  from 
France  could  easily  therein  be  contained  and 
brought  ashore  when  opportunity  presented  itself. 
At  another  port  a  vessel  was  actually  dis- 
covered to  have  false  bows.  One  might  wonder 
how  it  was  that  the  officer  ever  found  this  out, 
but  he  was  smart  enough  to  measure  the  deck  on 
the  port  side,  after  which  he  measured  the  ship 
below.  He  found  a  diffisrence  of  over  a  foot,  and 
so  he  undertook  a  thorough  search  of  the  ship. 
He  first  proceeded  to  investigate  the  forepeak,  but 
he  was  unable  to  discover  any  entrance.  He 
therefore  went  to  the  hold,  examined  the  bulk- 
head, and  observed  that  the  nails  of  the  cleats  on 
the  starboard  side  had  been  drawn.     He  proceeded 

to   force   off  the   cleats,   whereupon   one   of   the 

245 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

boards  of  the  bulkhead  fell  down,  and  a  quantity  of 
East  India  silk  handkerchiefs  came  tumbling  out. 
Needless  to  say,  this  proved  a  serious  matter  for 
the  vessel's  skipper. 

Sometimes  too,  cases  used  to  come  over  from 
France  containing  carton  boxes  of  artificial  flowers. 
These  boxes,  it  was  found,  were  fitted  with  false 
bottoms  affording  a  space  of  not  more  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  between  the  real  bottom  and 
the  false.  But  into  this  space  was  squeezed 
either  a  silk  gauze  dress  or  some  parcels  "very 
nicely  stitched  in,"  containing  dressed  ostrich 
feathers.  The  flowers  were  usually  stitched  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  boxes  to  prevent  damage,  so 
it  was  difficult  to  detect  that  there  was  any  false 
bottom  at  all.  However,  after  this  practice  had 
been  in  vogue  for  some  time  it  was  discovered  by 
the  Revenue  officers  and  the  matter  made  gener- 
ally known  among  the  officials  at  all  the  ports, 
so  that  they  could  be  on  the  alert  for  such 
ingenuity. 

Sometimes  when  a  Revenue  officer  was  on  her 

station  she  would  come  across  a  sailing  craft,  which 

would    be    found    to   have   quite   a   considerable 

number  of  spirits  in  small  casks  together  with  a 

number  of  other  prohibited  goods.     If  the  master 

of  such  a  craft  were  told  by  the  cruiser's  officer 

that  they  would  have  to  be  seized  as  they  were 

evidently  about  to  be  smuggled,  the  master  would 

reply  that  they  were   nothing  of  the   kind,    but 

246 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

that  whilst  they  were  on  the  fishing  grounds 
working  their  nets  they  happened  to  bring  these 
casks  up  from  the  sinkers  and  warp  which  had  kept 
them  below  water ;  or  they  had  found  these  casks 
floating  on  the  sea,  and  had  no  doubt  been  either 
lost  or  intentionally  thrown  overboard  by  some 
smuggling  vessel  while  being  chased  by  a  Revenue 
cruiser.  It  became  a  very  difficult  matter  to 
ascertain  under  such  circumstances  whether  the 
master  were  speaking  the  truth  or  the  reverse,  for 
it  was  not  altogether  rare  for  the  kegs  to  be  picked 
up  by  fishermen  in  the  manner  indicated.  So  the 
only  way  out  of  this  dilemma  was  for  the  com- 
manders of  the  cruisers  to  bring  such  craft  as  the 
above  to  the  nearest  Custom  House,  where  the 
master  could  be  brought  ashore  and  subjected  to  a 
cross-examination  as  to  where  they  found  these 
casks  and  what  they  proposed  doing  with  them. 

A  seizure  was  made  at  Deal  about  the  year 
1818  consisting  of  thirty-three  packages  of  China 
crape  and  silk.  These  had  been  very  artfully 
concealed  in  the  ballast  bags  of  a  lugger  called  the 
Fame,  belonging  to  London.  One  package  was 
found  in  each  bag  completely  covered  up  with 
shingles  or  small  stones,  so  that  even  if  a  sus- 
picious officer  were  to  feel  the  outside  of  these 
bags  he  would  be  inclined  to  believe  that  they 
contained  nothing  but  ballast,  and  if  he  opened 
them  he  would  think  there  was  nothing  else  but 
stones,  for  the  goods  were  carefully  squeezed  into 

247 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  centre  of  the  bags  and  surrounded  with  a  good 
thickness  of  shingle.  Another  dodge  which  was 
discovered  at  Shoreham  on  a  vessel  which  had 
come  from  Dieppe  was  to  have  the  iron  ballast 
cast  in  such  a  form  that  it  was  not  solid  but 
hollow  inside.  By  this  means  a  good  deal  of  duti- 
able stuff  could  be  put  inside  the  iron  and  then 
sealed  up  again.  There  was  a  ship,  also,  named 
the  Isis,  of  Rye,  which  fell  into  disgrace  in  en- 
deavouring to  cheat  the  Customs.  She  was  a 
smack  of  26jf  tons  burthen,  her  master  being 
William  Boxhall.  It  was  while  she  was  lying  at 
her  home  port  that  one  of  the  Revenue  officers 
discovered  a  concealment  under  her  ballast,  the 
entrance  to  which  was  obtained  by  unshipping  two 
bulkhead  boards  forward.  There  was  one  conceal- 
ment on  each  side  of  the  keel,  and  each  contained 
enough  space  to  hold  from  twenty  to  twenty-four 
ankers  of  spirits. 

Along  the  Kentish  coast  a  good  deal  of  smug- 
gling used  to  go  on  by  means  of  galleys  which 
were  rowed  by  six,  ten,  and  even  twelve  oars. 
As  these  were  navigated  by  foreigners  and  sailed 
under  foreign  papers,  the  Customs  officers  were 
a  little  puzzled  as  to  what  exactly  could  be  done. 
Could  such  craft  be  seized  even  when  found  with 
no  cargoes  on  board,  when  they  were  either 
hauled  up  the  beach  or  were  discovered  hovering 
off  the  coast  ?     After  applying  to  the  Board  of 

Customs  for  guidance  they  were  referred  to  the 

248 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

Act,i  which  provided  that  any  boat,  wherry,  pinnace, 
barge,  or  galley  that  was  built  so  as  to  row  with 
more  than  four  oars,  if  found  within  the  counties 
of  Middlesex,  Surrey,  Kent,  or  Essex,  or  on  the 
river  Thames,  or  within  the  limits  of  the  Port 
of  London,  Sandwich,  or  Ipswich,  or  the  creeks 
thereto  belonging,  should  be  forfeited  together 
with  her  tackle.  The  object  of  this  was  clearly 
to  prevent  the  shortest  cross-Channel  route  being 
traversed  from  Holland  or  France  by  big,  seaworthy 
but  open,  multiple-oared  craft,  with  enough  men 
to  row  them  and  enough  space  to  carry  cargo 
that  would  make  the  smuggling  journey  worth 
while. 

The  following  fraud  was  detected  at  one  of 
the  out-ports  in  1819.  An  entry  had  been  made 
of  twenty-seven  barrels  of  pitch  which  had  been  im- 
ported in  a  ship  from  Dantzic.  But  the  Revenue 
officers  discovered  that  these  casks  were  peculiarly 
constructed.  Externally  each  cask  resembled  an 
ordinary  tar-barrel.  But  inside  there  was  enclosed 
another  cask  properly  made  to  fit.  Between  the 
cask  and  the  outside  barrel  pitch  had  been  run 
in  at  the  bung  so  that  the  enclosure  appeared 
at  first  to  be  one  solid  body  of  pitch.  But  after 
the  affair  was  properly  looked  into  it  was  found 
that  the  inner  cask  was  filled  with  such  dutiable 
articles  as  plate  glass  and  East  India  china. 

Sometimes  tubs  of  spirits  were  packed  up  in 

1  8  George  I.  cap.  18. 
249 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

sacks  and  packs  of  wool  and  thus  conveyed  from 

the   coast   into  the  interior  of  the  country ;   and 

in  the  seizing  of  some  goods  at  Guernsey  it  was 

found    that   tea   had    been  packed   into    cases  to 

resemble  packages  of  wine  which  had   come  out 

of  a  French  vessel  belonging  to  St.  Malo.    Nor  was 

the  owner  of  a  certain  boat  found  at  Folkestone 

any  novice  at  this  high-class  art.     Of  course  those 

were  the  days  when  keels  of  iron  and  lead  were 

not   so   popular    as   they   are    to-day,   but   inside 

ballast  was  almost  universal,  being  a  relic  of  the 

mediaeval  days  when  so  much  valuable  inside  space 

was  wasted  in  ships.       In   this    Folkestone  boat 

half-a-dozen   large  stones   were    used    as    ballast, 

which  was  a  very  natural  thing  for  such  a  craft. 

But  when  these  stones  came  to  be  examined  they 

were   found   to   have   been  hollowed  out  and  to 

have  been  fitted  with  tin  cases  which  were  filled 

with   spirits.     One    cannot   acquit    the   owner   of 

any  fraudulent  intent,  but  one  certainly  can  admire 

both  his  ingenuity  and  the  great  patience  which 

must    have    been    necessary   to   have   hollowed   a 

cavity  from  such  an  unyielding  material  as  stone. 

This  was  equalled  only  by  the  cargo  from  Guernsey. 

Four   sacks    said    to   contain    potatoes    from   the 

Channel  Isles  were  opened  by  the  Revenue  officers 

at  a  certain  port,  and,  on  being  examined,  it  was 

found  that  these  were  not  potatoes  at  all.     They 

were  so   many  rolls  of  tobacco  which  had  been 

fashioned   to  resemble  the  size  and  form  of  the 

250 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

vegetable,  and  then  covered  artfully  over  with  a 
thin  skin  and  finally  clayed  over  so  cleverly  that 
they  had  every  appearance  of  the  potatoes  they 
pretended  to  be. 

But  the  Channel  Isles  were  still  notorious. 
In  twelve  sacks  of  flour  imported  from  Jersey 
were  found  hidden  in  the  middle  twelve  bales 
of  tobacco  weighing  28  lbs.  each.  A  few  weeks 
later  three  boxes  of  prunes  also  from  Jersey  were 
opened,  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  prunes 
were  not  more  than  three  inches  deep  at  the  top 
and  three  inches  deep  at  the  bottom.  But  between 
there  was  a  space  in  which  were  concealed — in 
each  box — a  paper  parcel  of  silk,  some  scarves 
and  gloves,  &c.  But  in  order  to  make  the  total 
weight  of  the  box  approximate  to  that  which 
would  have  existed  had  it  been  full  of  prunes  a 
square  piece  of  lead  was  placed  above  and  another 
underneath  these  dutiable  articles. 

But  to  me  the  most  ingenious  method  of 
all  was  that  which  was  employed  in  1820  for 
smuggling  tobacco.  The  offending  ship  was  one 
of  the  vessels  employed  in  the  transport  service, 
and  the  man  who  thought  of  the  device  was  not 
far  from  being  a  genius.  He  first  of  all  obtained 
the  quantity  of  tobacco  which  he  proposed — 
no  doubt  with  the  assistance  of  more  than  one 
confederate — to  smuggle  ashore.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded  to  divide  this   into   two,   each   of  which 

formed  one   strand.     Afterwards   he   made   these 

251 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

strands  into  a  rope,  every  bit  of  it  being  tobacco. 
But  then  he  took  a  three-strand  hawser  and  laid 
this  over  the  tobacco,  so  that  when  the  hawser 
was  finished  no  one  could  suspect  the  tobacco 
without  first  cutting  or  unlaying  the  rope.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  discover  how  this  trick 
was  ever  suspected.  Nothing  less  than  an  accident 
or  the  information  of  a  spy  could  possibly  lead 
to  detection  in  such  a  clever  case. 

There  were  all  sorts  of  varieties  of  conceal- 
ments now  practised  since  the  "  scientific  "  period 
of  smuggling  had  come  in.  And  since  those 
wicked  old  days  have  passed,  and  with  them  a 
good  many  of  the  old-fashioned  types  of  craft,  it 
may  be  well  that  examples  of  these  misdirected 
efforts  should  be  collected  herewith.  There  was 
a  smack,  for  instance,  which  was  found  to  have 
under  her  ballast  a  large  trunk  that  was  divided 
into  four  separate  compartments  each  about  15  feet 
long  and  could  contain  twelve  half-ankers.  One 
end  of  the  trunk  was  fixed  against  the  bulkhead 
of  the  cabin,  and  extended  the  whole  length  of 
the  hold  opening  at  the  forward  end  close  to  the 
keelson  by  unshipping  two  pieces  of  the  bulk- 
head. 

Another  instance  of  the  employment  of  false 
bows  to  a  craft  was  found  on  searching  the  fish- 
ing smack  Flower,  of  Rye,  whose  master's  name 
was   William  Head.     It  was   observed  that  this 

false  section  would  hold  as  much  as  forty  to  fifty 

252 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

half-ankers,  the  entrance  being  on  the  port  side  of 
the  false  bow,  where  a  square  piece  took  out,  being 
fastened  by  a  couple  of  screws,  the  heads  of  which 
were  concealed  by  wooden  bungs  imitating  tree- 
nails. The  Flower  was  further  discovered  to  have 
a  false  stern,  the  entrance  to  this  being  by  means 
of  the  upper  board  of  this  stern  on  the  port  side 
in  the  cabin.  She  was  a  vessel  39  feet  2j  inches 
long,  12  feet  IJ  inches  beam,  5  feet  9 J  inches 
deep,  and  of  23j  tons  burthen,  being  fitted  with  a 
standing  bowsprit  and  sloop-rigged.  An  almost 
identical  set  of  concealments  was  found  in  the 
smack  Albion  at  Sandwich,  a  vessel  of  over  42 
tons  burthen.  The  entrance  to  her  false  stern  was 
through  a  small  locker  on  the  port  and  starboard 
sides.  She  was  further  fitted  with  a  false  stern- 
post  and  false  timbers, 

A  considerable  amount  of  ingenuity  must  have 
been  exercised  in  the  case  of  an  open  four-oared 
boat  which  was  seized  at  Dover  together  with  twelve 
ankers  of  spirits.  The  device  was  as  follows : — 
Across  the  bow  end  of  the  boat  was  the  usual 
thwart  on  which  an  oarsman  sat.  At  the  after  end 
where  the  stroke  sat  was  another  thwart.  Under 
each  of  these  thwarts  was  an  ordinary  stanchion 
for  supporting  the  thwart.  But  each  of  these  two 
stanchions  had  been  made  hollow.  Thus,  through 
each  a  rope  could  be  inserted,  and  inasmuch  as 
the  keel  had  also  been  pierced  it  was  possible  to 

pass   one   rope  through   at    the   bow-thwart   and 

253 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

another  at  the  stern-thwart,  these  ropes  penetrat- 
ing the  boat  from  thwart  to  keel.  The  inboard 
ends  of  these  two  ropes  were  carelessly  lashed 
round  the  thwarts  or  covered  with  gear,  so  there 
was  no  untoward  appearance.  But  at  the  other 
ends  of  the  ropes  were  fastened  the  twelve  ankers, 
which  were  thus  towed  along  under  the  keel  of  the 
craft,  and  not  trailing  out  astern  as  was  sometimes 
done  in  the  case  of  bigger  boats.  Thus  because 
the  whole  body  of  the  boat  covered  the  floating 
casks  it  was  very  unlikely  that  their  presence  would 
be  suspected. 

The  smack  Strawberry  of  Deal,  on  being 
searched,  was  found  to  have  a  false  bottom,  capable 
of  containing  a  considerable  quantity  of  goods. 
This  bottom  was  constructed  by  two  leaden  cases 
fixed  on  the  timbers  the  whole  length  of  the  hold, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  keelson,  and  ceiled  over 
with  the  usual  ceiling,  having  the  ballast  placed 
over  it.  The  cases  opened  on  each  side  of  the  hold 
by  taking  out  a  plank  from  the  temporary  ceiling. 
In  the  case  of  the  lugger  Fox  (as  usual  belong- 
ing to  Rye),  a  vessel  over  16  tons,  John  Souden, 
master,  there  were  found  to  be  double  bottoms 
underneath  the  bed  cabins,  the  entrance  being 
made  from  underneath  the  cabins,  and  then  un- 
shipping a  small  piece  of  board  about  a  foot  square, 
each  concealment  being  able  to  hold  from  fifty  to 
sixty  pieces  of  bandana  silks. 

Another  smuggling  device  in  vogue  during  this 
254 


THE   PERIOD   OF   INGENUITY 

ingenious  period  had  to  be  employed  in  such  places 
as  Ramsgate  harbour,  where  it  would  have  been 
utterly  impossible  to  have  employed  ordinary 
methods.  It  resembled  very  much  the  method 
employed  at  Dover,  mentioned  just  now.  A 
rowing-boat  would  come  into  the  harbour,  ap- 
parently with  nothing  in  her  nor  anything  towing 
astern.  But  there  were  fifteen  or  so  half-ankers 
underneath  her  hull,  spirits  of  course  being  con- 
tained in  these  casks.  Now  the  latter  were  all 
fastened  to  a  long  iron  bar,  the  ropes  to  the  boat 
being  fastened  to  this  bar.  Consequently,  after 
the  boat  had  reached  her  corner  of  Ramsgate 
harbour,  all  she  had  to  do  was  to  let  go  the  ropes 
and  the  iron  bar  would  keep  the  kegs  on  the  sandy 
bottom  and  prevent  them  from  disclosing  their 
identity  by  floating.  At  low  water  the  smugglers 
could  have  gone  to  get  them  up  again,  for  they 
would  not  move  far  even  with  the  ebb  tide.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  the  Revenue  Tide  Surveyor 
at  this  port  preceded  the  smugglers,  and  by  creep- 
ing for  the  bar  and  tubs  with  grapnels  succeeded 
in  locating  what  he  wanted. 

On  another  occasion  at  one  of  the  out-ports,  or 
rather  along  the  neighbouring  beach,  thirty-three 
gallons  of  spirits,  contained  in  nineteen  small  casks, 
were  recovered  in  a  startling  manner.  Going 
along  the  beach  were  noticed  among  the  chalk 
rocks  and  stones  of  the  neighbourhood  some  other 

objects.     These  were  the  casks,  but  they  had  been 

255 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

so  cleverly  covered  over  with  a  cement  of  chalk,  to 
which  was  fastened  seaweed  in  the  most  natural 
manner,  that  seeing  them  there  among  the  rocks 
of  the  shore  they  would  never  have  been  discovered 
by  the  Revenue  men,  had  not  it  been  (as  one  may 
guess)  for  a  hint  given  by  an  informer.  Other- 
wise there  they  would  have  remained  until  the 
smugglers  found  it  convenient  to  come  and  fetch 
them. 

We  called  attention  just  now  to  the  concealing 
of  tobacco  in  rope.  This  device  evidently  became 
a  fine  art,  and  had  succeeded  on  many  an  occasion. 
At  any  rate  in  Flushing  tobacco  was  openly  on 
sale  in  the  shops  ready  for  smuggling  into  England 
already  made  up  into  ropes.  You  could  get  any- 
thing as  big  as  a  hawser  and  as  small  as  a  sail-tyer 
done  up  so  ingeniously  as  to  deceive  almost  any 
one.  In  fact  on  washing  these  slightly  with  a 
little  rum  they  had  every  appearance  of  hempen 
rope. 


256 


CHAPTER   XIV 

SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

Rowing  about  on  the  night  of  Lady  Day,  1813,  a 
six-oared  boat,  which  had  been  launched  from  the 
Custom  House  cutter  Lion,  was  on  the  prowl  in 
that  bay  which  extends  all  the  way  from  Dunge- 
ness  to  Folkestone.  When  the  watchers  in  this 
craft  were  off  Hythe,  and  only  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  shore,  they  saw  coming  along  over 
the  dark  waters  a  lugsail  boat  with  foresail  and 
mizzen  making  towards  Dymnchurch,  which  is 
just  to  the  west  of  Hythe.  It  was  about  an  hour 
before  midnight,  and  as  this  suspicious  craft  did 
not  come  near  to  the  Lions  boat  the  latter  rowed 
towards  her  and  hailed  her. 

*'  What  boat  is  that  ? "  they  asked. 

'*  A  Folkestone  boat,"  came  back  the  answer. 

Thereupon  John  Wellar,  a  deputed  mariner  in 
the  Customs  boat,  shouted  to  the  lugger  to  heave-to, 
for  he  guessed  what  the  game  was. 

*' Heave-to!"  roared  the  lugger's  master. 
"  We'll  see  you  d— d  first  I  " 

But  the  rowing-boat  was  not  to  be  put  off  with 
mere  insults,  and  quickly  pulled  up  alongside  the 

257  R 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

craft.  One  of  the  men  in  the  Customs  boat  then 
stood  up  and  looked  into  the  lugger  and  remarked 
that  she  was  full  of  kegs.  Wellar  therefore  im- 
mediately jumped  into  her,  followed  by  three  or 
four  of  his  men,  and  seized  her.  On  board  he  found 
three  men,  and  them  also  he  secured.  He  further 
discovered  144  half- ankers  of  spirits,  consisting  of 
brandy  and  gin  from  across  the  Channel,  which 
were  subsequently  taken  to  the  Custom  House  at 
Dover.  A  little  more  than  a  year  later,  Robert 
Baker,  the  lugger's  master,  was  brought  before  the 
judge  and  fined  £100. 

There  was  an  interesting  incident  which  occurred 
a  few  years  later  in  the  eastern  corner  of  England, 
which  led  to  trouble  for  a  man  named  Henry 
Palmer  of  Harwich.  This  man  was  master  and 
owner  of  a  yawl  named  the  Daisy,  which  belonged 
to  Ipswich.  About  midday  on  the  22nd  of  March 
1817,  one  of  the  Preventive  officers,  named  Dennis 
Grubb,  observed  the  Daisy  sailing  up  the  Orwell, 
which  flows  from  Ipswich  past  Harwich  and  out 
into  the  North  Sea.  Grubb  was  in  a  six-oared 
galley,  and  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  below 
Levington  Creek,  which  is  on  the  starboard  hand 
about  a  third  of  the  way  up  the  river  between 
Harwich  and  Ipswich.  With  Grubb  was  another 
man,  and  on  seeing  the  Daisy  they  began  rowing 
towards  her.  Whether  Grubb  had  any  reason  for 
suspecting  her  more  than  any  other  craft,  whether 

he  had  received  warning  from  an  informer,  cannot 

258 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

be  stated.  But  what  is  true  is  that  he  was  deter- 
mined to  have  her  examined. 

However,  notwithstanding  that  Palmer  must 
have  known  perfectly  well  that  this  was  a  preventive 
boat,  and  that  he  was  in  duty  bound  to  stop  when 
hailed,  it  was  obvious  that,  as  soon  as  the  galley 
came  near,  the  Daisy  instantly  went  about  on  the 
other  tack  and  stood  away  from  the  boat.  The 
latter  in  turn  pulled  after  the  yawl  and  was  again 
approaching  when  the  Daisy  once  more  tacked 
and  ran  away.  But  at  last  the  galley  came  up, 
and  just  as  Grubb  was  in  the  act  of  stepping 
aboard,  Palmer  coolly  remarked  that  he  had  some 
tubs  aboard,  following  this  up  by  the  explanation 
that  he  had  got  them  on  the  trawling  ground. 
This  was  too  obvious  a  lie  to  be  believed  for  a 
moment. 

Grubb  accordingly  inquired  how  it  was  that 

Palmer  had  come  past  Harwich  since  the  latter 

was  his  home,  to  which  he  answered  that  he  was 

bound  for  Ipswich,  as  there  his  vessel  was  registered. 

But  inasmuch  as  there  were  two  of  the  Revenue 

cutters  as  well  as  a  guardship  lying  at  the  entrance 

to  the  river,  how  was  it  that  he  had  not  stopped 

to  hand  the  tubs  over  to  them  ?     For  either  the 

Customs    cutter    Griper,   or    the   Excise    cutter 

Badger,  would  have  been  the  ordinary  receptacle, 

instead  of  waiting  till  a  Preventive  galley  overtook 

the   Daisy.      When    Grubb    asked    how   Palmer 

had  come  by  all  these  tubs  he  said  that  he  had 

259 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

caught  them  in  his  trawl,  whereupon  the  preven- 
tive man  examined  the  net  and  found  it  damp 
but  certainly  not  wet,  as  it  would  have  been  had 
Palmer's  version  been  the  truth.  Furthermore,  if 
these  tubs  had  been  caught  in  the  trawl  there 
would  have  been  a  number  of  holes  torn,  but 
Grubb  found  there  to  be  no  holes.  There  were  no 
fewer  than  forty-eight  of  these  tubs  found  on  the 
Daisy — all  half-ankers,  and  fitted  with  slings  ready 
for  landing — and  inasmuch  as  it  was  clear  that  the 
net  had  not  been  lately  used  Palmer  was  obviously 
lying.  The  iron  which,  had  it  been  dragged  along 
the  sea-bed,  would  have  been  polished  bright  with 
the  sand,  was  actually  not  bright  but  rusty,  thus 
proving  that  it  had  not  been  recently  used. 

Grubb  therefore  felt  justified  in  arresting  the 
yawl,  and  taking  her  and  her  tubs  to  the  Custom 
House.  Later  on  he  made  a  thorough  search  of 
her,  and  found  a  creeping-iron  which  had  five 
prongs  and  a  long  shank.  The  reader  is  well  aware 
that  such  an  implement  was  used  by  the  smugglers 
but  never  found  on  board  a  genuine  fishing-craft. 
For  getting  up  sunken  tubs  it  was  essential,  and  for 
that  purpose  it  was  evidently  on  board  the  Daisy. 
Moreover,  it  was  found  to  be  both  wet  and  polished 
bright  as  to  its  prongs,  and  there  was  still  some 
wet  mud  sticking  thereto. 

The  case,  of  course,  duly  came  on  to  be  tried, 

and  the  Attorney-General  suggested  that  at  that 

time,  in  nine  cases  out  of  every  ten,  the  tubs  of 

260 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

smuggled  spirits  were  not  brought  directly  to  port 
but  sunk  at  different  places  in  the  sea,  located 
by  landmarks  and  buoys,  fishing-boats  being  sent 
out  later  on  to  get  them  by  these  creepers,  and  to 
bring  them  in  by  small  quantities  as  opportunity 
permitted.  Palmer's  defence  was  that  they  had 
found  the  tubs  just  outside  Harwich  harbour, 
opposite  to  Landguard  Fort,  at  about  seven  o'clock 
the  previous  evening.  But  it  was  a  somewhat 
strange  fact  that  though  this  fishing- vessel  should 
have  been  out  all  night  not  a  single  fish  was  found 
on  board.  And  when  Palmer  was  asked  how  it  was 
that  if  he  had  found  these  tubs,  and  had  intended 
to  hand  them  over  to  the  Customs  authorities, 
he  had  been  so  careful  to  stow  them  all  below 
and  not  leave  them  on  deck  to  be  visible  to  the 
Griper  and  Badger  as  he  passed  ?  His  reply,  that 
he  had  put  the  tubs  below  lest  a  pufF  of  wind 
might  blow  them  overboard,  somehow  did  not 
convince  the  judge,  and  the  verdict  went  against 
him. 

A  curious  instance  of  an  abuse  of  office  was 
seen  in  the  occurrence  which  centred  round  a 
certain  Mr.  Thomas  Moore  Slade.  Mr.  Slade  was 
Agent  Victualler  for  the  Chatham  Victualling 
Office,  and  from  his  connection  with  that  depart- 
ment he  had  the  power  of  employing  some  of  his 
Majesty's  vessels  belonging  to  the  department. 
This  gentleman  got  to  know  that  a  splendid  col- 
lection of  pictures  was  about  to  be  dispersed  in 

261 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

France.  They  were  of  great  value  both  artisti- 
cally and  intrinsically,  and  had  belonged  to  the 
late  Duke  of  Orleans.  Slade  therefore,  quite  un- 
justifiably, determined  to  make  use  of  one  of  the 
craft  under  his  charge  for  the  purpose  of  fetching 
these  pictures  into  the  country,  and  thus  cheating 
the  Government  of  its  dues,  which  would  have 
been  very  heavy  in  this  transaction. 

The  way  he  went  about  it  was  to  direct  a  man 
named  Thomas  Cheney,  who  commanded  the 
sloop  Grace  (belonging  to  the  King's  Victualling 
Office),  to  get  under  way  and  proceed  a  certain 
distance  from  Chatham.  After  he  had  come  out 
of  the  Medway  and  had  reached  the  Nore  he  was 
to  open  a  letter  which  Slade  had  given  him, 
wherein  he  would  find  his  instructions.  The 
Grace  in  due  course  hoisted  sails  and  anchor 
and  found  herself  out  by  the  Nore.  On  opening 
the  letter,  Cheney  was  surprised  to  find  he  was' 
directed  to  proceed  to  Calais.  He  informed  the 
crew,  who  were  very  indignant,  as  they  had  all 
thought  they  were  bound  for  Deptford.  So  that 
night  they  put  back  to  Sheerness  and  let  go 
anchor.  The  following  day,  with  a  reluctant 
company  on  board,  they  started  off  again  and 
reached  Ramsgate,  where  they  lay  all  night.  On 
the  third  day  they  crossed  the  Channel  and  got 
into  Calais  Roads,  anchored,  and  remained  there 
all  night. 

It  should  be  added  that  Slade  had  taken  the 
262 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

precaution  to  put  on  board  this  sloop  before  she 
left  England  a  Mr.  Thomas  Aldridge,  an  expert 
judge  of  pictures,  his  exact  description  for  this 
voyage  being  as  supercargo,  a  term  which  signifies 
an  officer  in  a  trading  vessel  whose  duty  it  is  to 
manage  the  sales  and  superintend  all  the  com- 
mercial concerns  of  the  voyage.  Having  arrived, 
then,  off  Calais,  Cheney,  Aldridge,  and  some  of 
the  crew  proceeded  ashore  and,  guided  by  the  art 
expert,  went  to  a  certain  Monsieur  Dessein,  who 
kept  an  hotel  in  that  town.  From  him  they 
obtained  a  large  number  of  cases  containing  the 
Orleans  collection,  and  brought  them  off  to  the 
Grace.  Altogether  there  were  no  less  than  fifteen 
of  these  cases,  and  although  the  Grace  was  a 
vessel  of  some  thirty-two  tons  burthen,  yet  the 
weight  of  these  paintings  was  sufficiently  great  to 
lower  her  water-line  a  good  six  inches. 

After  this  valuable  cargo  had  been  got  aboard 
and  stowed,  a  gale  of  wind  sprang  up  and  detained 
them  for  a  few  days,  but  at  length  they  cleared 
from  the  French  coast  and  steered  for  the  Downs. 
From  there  they  rounded  the  North  Foreland,  and 
after  running  up  the  Thames  entered  the  Medway 
and  let  go  at  Gillingham  until  it  was  dark.  But 
as  soon  as  night  had  fallen  they  got  going  once 
more,  and  ran  alongside  the  Victualling  Wharf  at 
Chatham.  The  pictures  were  brought  up  from 
the  sloop  and  taken  ashore  by  means  of  a  crane, 

and  then  quietly  carried  into  Mr.  Slade's  house. 

263 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

By  this  he  had  thus  saved  the  cost  both  of  carriage 
and  of  duty,  the  pictures  being  afterwards  sold  for 
a  very  large  sum.  However,  this  dishonest  busi- 
ness at  length  leaked  out,  an  action  was  brought 
against  Slade,  and  a  verdict  was  given  for  the  King 
and  for  six  pictures  of  the  single  value  of  twenty 
guineas. 

On  the  evening  of  a  November  day  in  the  year 
1819,  the  Revenue  cutter  Badger,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  JNIercer,  was  cruising  in  the 
English  Channel  between  Dungeness  and  Bou- 
logne. About  seven  o'clock  it  was  reported  to  the 
commander  that  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away 
there  was  a  lugger  steering  about  N.W.  by  W.  to- 
wards the  English  coast.  The  Badger  thereupon 
gave  chase,  but  as  she  drew  nearer  and  nearer  the 
lugger  altered  her  course  many  times.  Carrying 
a  smart  press  of  canvas,  the  Badger,  which  was 
one  of  the  fastest  vessels  employed  in  the  Revenue, 
came  up  rapidly.  As  usual  she  fired  her  warning 
gun  for  the  lugger  to  heave-to,  but  all  the  notice 
taken  by  the  chased  ship  was  to  go  about  on  the 
other  tack  and  endeavour  still  to  escrpe.  But 
presently  the  cutter,  running  with  the  wind  on  her 
quarter  and  doing  her  eight  knots  to  the  lugger's 
four  or  five,  came  up  to  her  foe  so  quickly  as  to 
run  right  past  her.  But  before  the  Badger  luffed  up 
she  hailed  the  lugger  (whose  name  was  afterwards 
found  to  be  the  his  of  Boulogne)  and  ordered 

her  to  heave-to. 

264 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

"  I  be  hove-to,"  answered  back  one  of  the 
lugger's  crew  in  unmistakable  English. 

Meanwhile  the  Badger  was  hoisting  up  the 
galley  in  the  rigging  preparatory  to  launching,  and 
the  crew  stood  by  ready  to  get  in.  As  soon  as 
the  Badger  had  shot  past,  down  went  her  helm 


"  The  Badger  was  hoisting  up  the  galley  in  the  rigging." 

and  she  came  alongside  the  Iris  as  the  galley 
was  dropped  into  the  leaden  waters.  But  just 
at  that  moment  the  Badgei^'s  people  overheard 
some  men  on  the  lugger  exclaim,  "  Now's  your 
time,"  whereupon  the  crew  of  the  lugger  also 
launched  their  boat,  forsook  the  Iris,  and  began 
to  row  off  as  fast  as  they  could.  The  Badger 
called  to  them — among  whom  was  a  man  named 
Albert    Hugnet — ordering    them    under    pain   of 

265 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

being  shot  to  come  alongside  the  cutter.  They 
repHed  that  they  were  coming,  but  that  they  could 
not  find  their  thole-pins,  saying  that  they  had  only 
two  oars  on  one  side  and  one  oar  on  the  other. 
This  was  said  in  English,  and  was  obviously  a 
mere  excuse  to  gain  time.  Meanwhile  the  cutter's 
galley  and  men  had  come  alongside  the  lugger,  in 
which  they  found  110  half-ankers,  containing  382 
gallons  of  brandy,  and  157  half-ankers  of  Geneva, 
55  bags  of  tea,  and  19  bags  containing  355  lbs. 
of  manufactured  tobacco. 

As  the  men  of  the  Iris  showed  no  signs 
of  coming  back,  the  prize-crew  on  the  lugger 
hailed  the  Badger,  giving  information  that  the 
smugglers  were  escaping.  '*  Lie  close,"  came  the 
command,  so  the  cutter  trimmed  her  sheets  and 
went  in  pursuit,  and  fired  some  shots  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  retreating  boat.  But  it  was  no  use, 
for  the  boat  was  quickly  lost  from  sight  among  the 
waves  and  disappeared  entirely.  There  was  some 
sea  on  at  the  time,  so  no  one  among  the  Revenue 
men  envied  the  Iris's  crew  their  task  of  rowing 
across  to  Boulogne,  a  distance  of  somewhere  about 
twenty-seven  miles,  in  that  weather  and  athwart 
very  strong  tides,  with  the  certainty  of  having  a 
worse  time  as  the  Ridens  and  the  neighbourhood 
of  Boulogne  was  approached.  In  fact  the  chief 
mate  of  the  cutter  remarked,  some  time  after, 
though  he  had  seen  these  tub-boats  go  across  the 

sea  in  all  weathers,  and  were  splendidly  seaworthy, 

9,m 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

yet  he  considered  it  was  not   very   wise   of  the 
his's  crew  to  risk  it  on  such  a  night  as  that. 

Convinced,  then,  that  the  men  were  making 
for  France,  the  higger,  with  her  prize  crew  on 
board,  presently  sailed  up  after  the  cutter,  hoping 
to  come  across  their  captives.  But  neither  cutter 
nor  lugger  could  find  the  men,  and  concluded,  no 
doubt,  that  the  tub-boat  had  foundered.  But,  at  a 
later  date,  Albert  Hugnet  was  arrested,  and  in  the 
following  June  was  brought  to  trial  and  punished. 
It  then  came  out  that  the  whole  boat-load  had 
escaped  with  their  lives.  For  Andres  Finshaw 
was  called  as  evidence  for  the  defence.  He  had 
been  one  of  the  lugger's  crew,  and  showed  that 
after  rowing  away  that  night  they  had  not  fetched 
across  to  the  French  coast,  but  having  the  good 
luck  to  find  a  French  fishing-craft  only  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away,  they  were  taken  aboard  her  and 
thus  returned  to  France. 

It  was  also  brought  out  very  clearly  by  the 
other  side  that  when  first  seen  the  Iris  was  within 
nine  miles  of  the  English  coast,  and  afterwards  the 
badger  steered  N.W.  by  W.  towards  the  south  of 
Dungeness,  and  after  five  and  a  half  miles  saw  the 
Dungeness  light  and  the  South  Foreland  light, 
took  cross-bearings  of  these,  and  having  marked 
them  off  on  the  chart,  fixed  their  position  as  about 
three  miles  from  the  coast.  Thus  when  the  lugger 
was  first  encountered  the  latter  was  about  nine 
miles  from  the  land. 

267 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

The  date  of  that  incident,  then,  was  the 
12th  of  November,  and  Hugnet  was  not  then 
captured.  We  may  now  pass  over  the  next  four 
weeks  till  we  come  to  the  10th  of  December  in 
that  same  year.  At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  Revenue  cutter  Eagle  was  cruising  off  the 
coast  of  Kent  when  she  observed  a  lugger  bearing 
about  N.W.  by  N.  from  them.  The  lugger  was 
under  all  sail  and  heading  S.E.  for  Boulogne, 
having  come  out  from  East  Dungeness  Bay.  The 
weather  was  thick,  it  was  snowing,  and  no  land 
was  in  sight,  Dungeness  being  the  nearest  por- 
tion of  the  English  coast. 

It  did  not  take  long  for  the  Eagles  commander 
to  guess  what  was  happening,  especially  when  that 
bay  was  so  notorious,  and  the  cutter  began  to  give 
chase,  the  wind  being  roughly  N.W.  But  as  the 
Eagle  pursued,  the  lugger,  as  was  the  approved 
custom,  hauled  up  and  came  on  a  wind,  hoping  to 
get  away  and  outpace  the  cutter.  But  in  this  the 
smugglers  were  not  successful,  and  eventually  the 
Eagle  overhauled  her.  The  cutter's  galley  was 
now  launched,  and  after  having  been  for  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  rowed  quickly  by  the  aid  of 
her  eight  men,  the  lugger  was  reached  and  hailed. 
The  usual  warning  signal  was  fired  from  a  musket 
in  the  boat  and  colours  shown.  The  lugger,  how- 
ever, declined  to  heave-to  as  requested. 

"  If    you    don't    heave-to,"   roared    the    chief 

mate   of    the   Eagle,   as   he  looked   towards   the 

268 


SOME    INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

helmsman,  "  we'll  fire  right  into  you."     On  this 

the  lugger  lowered  her  sails,  the  galley  bumped 

alongside,  and  the  chief  mate  and  crew,  pistols  in 

hand,   leapt  aboard.      "  Where   are   you   from  ?  " 

asked    the    chief    mate.      The    answer   came    in 

French,  which  the  latter  did  not  understand,  but 

he    thought   they    said    they   were    bound    from 

Bordeaux  to  Calais.     If  so,  it  was  an  obvious  and 

foolish  lie.     Mr,   Gray — for  that   was   the  mate's 

name — then  inquired  how  many  men  were  aboard, 

and  the  answer  returned  that  there   were   seven. 

Gray    then    called    the    lugger's     men    aft,    and 

separated  the  English  from  the  foreign,  and  found 

there   were  five  French  and  two  English.      The 

two  latter,   said  the   Frenchman  (who  was  none 

other  than  Albert  Hugnet,  whom  we  spoke  of  just 

now),  were  just  passengers.     A  few  minutes  later, 

the   skipper   contradicted  himself  and   said   there 

were  not   seven   but   nine,   all  told.     Gray  then 

proceeded  to  look  for  the  other  two,  and  jumped 

down   forward  into  the  forepeak.      As  the  place 

was  dark  he  put  his  cutlass  in  first  and  rummaged 

about.      In   a   moment   the    cutlass   brought   up 

against  something  soft.     Gray  had  struck  a  man, 

hiding  there,  on  the  legs  and  thighs. 

He  was  called  upon  by  the  cutter's  mate  to 

come  out,  and  instantly  obeyed,  fearing  no  doubt 

that  the  cutlass  would  assail  him  again  if  he  didn't. 

As  he  emerged  he  was  followed  by  another  man, 

and  another,  and  yet  another;   in  fact  from  that 

269 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

dark  hole  there  came  out  a  procession  of  seven,  all 
of  whom  were  found  to  be  Englishmen.  It  was 
noticeable  that  most,  if  not  all,  were  dressed  in 
short  jackets  and  petticoat  trousers.  They  were 
clearly  sailors,  and  not  landsmen — passengers  or 
anything  else.  In  plain  language  they  were  out- 
and-out  smugglers.  What  was  especially  to  be 
noted  was  the  fact  that  their  trousers  were  quite 
wet  right  up  to  their  middles.  In  some  cases 
their  jackets  were  also  wet  up  to  their  elbows. 
All  this  clearly  pointed  to  the  fact  that  they  had  not 
long  since  put  off*  from  the  shore,  where  they  had 
succeeded  in  landing  a  contraband  cargo  by  wading 
from  the  lugger  to  the  beach ;  and  such  a  thick 
atmosphere  as  there  was  on  the  previous  night 
must  have  made  it  highly  convenient  for  them. 
Nevertheless,  even  for  these  weather-hardened 
seamen,  it  cannot  have  been  altogether  pleasant 
penned  up  in  sopping  clothes  in  a  dark  forepeak 
with  an  unseen  cutlass  waving  about  in  their  midst 
and  seizure  pending. 

These  men  also  Gray  ordered  to  go  aft,  and 
put  them  together  so  that  he  might  see  how  many 
altogether  were  English  and  how  many  French. 
It  was  found  that  there  were  nine  of  them 
English  and  five  French.  Taking  possession  of 
the  helm.  Gray  let  the  sails  draw  and  ran  down 
to  the  Eagle,  telling  his  prisoners  he  was  going  to 
get    further    instructions    from    his    commander. 

There  were  no  tubs  found,  oa  the  lugger^  which 

270, 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

was  as  might  be  expected,  but  there  was  a  soHtary 
hoop  which  had  evidently  come  off  whilst  these 
tubs  were  being  hauled  out,  and  there  were  also 
found  two  pairs  of  slings  which  were  universally 
employed  for  getting  the  half-ankers  ashore. 
These  slings  were  made  of  small  line,  and  were 
passed  round  the  circumference  of  the  cask  at  its 
"  bow  "  and  "  stern,"  sufficient  line  being  left  so 
that  there  were  two  lines,  one  to  pass  over  each  of 
a  man's  shoulders.  These  two  lines  could  be 
joined  to  other  two  on  another  cask,  and  so  each 
smuggler  could  land  with  one  tub  on  his  back  and 
another  on  his  chest,  in  much  the  same  way  as  you 
see  a  sandwich-man  carrying  boards  in  the  street. 

On  examining  this  lugger  there  was  no  bilge- 
water  found  in  the  forepeak,  so  those  seven  shiver- 
ing men  could  not  have  made  the  excuse  that 
the  vessel  was  damp  in  that  portion.  To  cut 
a  long  story  short,  the  lugger  was  eventually 
taken  into  Harwich,  having  been  discovered  seven- 
teen miles  from  the  French  coast  and  eleven  from 
the  English  shore.  Assuming  the  lugger  had 
travelled  at  about  four  knots  an  hour,  this  would 
mean  that  she  had  started  off  from  the  English 
beach  on  her  return  journey  about  5  a.m.,  the 
previous  hours  of  the  night  having  doubtless  been 
spent  in  unloading  the  tubs  somewhere  between 
Folkestone  and  Dungeness  or  perhaps  Rye.  Thus 
Hugnet,    having    at    last    been    caught,    had   to 

stand  his  trial  for  both   this  and  the  occurrence 

271 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  the  previous  month.  And  a  verdict  in  each 
case  having  been  returned  against  him,  his  activi- 
ties in  running  backwards  and  forwards  across 
the  Enghsh  Channel  were,  for  a  time  at  least, 
considerably  modified. 

These  tub-boats,  which  we  have  had  cause  to 
mention  more  than  once,  were  usually  not  towed 
but  carried  on  the  lugger's  deck.  A  tub-boat 
got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  when  the  lugger 
was  too  big  to  run  her  nose  on  the  beach  the 
tubs  were  landed  in  these  boats.  For  that  reason 
they  were  made  very  deep,  with  plenty  of  high 
freeboard,  and  were  accordingly  wonderfully  good 
sea-boats,  though  they  were  somewhat  heavy  to 
row  even  without  their  spirituous  cargoes. 

As  one  looks  through  the  gaol-books  and  other 
smuggling  records,  one  finds  that  there  was  a 
kind  of  hereditary  custom  that  this  running  of 
contraband  goods  should  pass  on  from  father 
to  son  for  generations.  Thus  there  are  constant 
repetitions,  in  different  ages,  of  men  bearing  the 
same  surname  engaged  in  smuggling  and  becoming 
wonderfully  notorious  in  this  art.  Among  such 
family  names  must  be  mentioned  that  of  Ratten- 
bury.  The  man  of  whom  we  are  about  to  speak 
was  flourishing  during  the  second  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  his  christian  name  was 
John.  In  November  1820 — it  is  significant  how 
often  this  dark  month  crops  up  in  the  history 
of  smuggling,  when  the  weather  was  not  likely 

272 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

to  tempt  those  Revenue  cruisers'  commanders, 
who  preferred  the  snug  shelter  of  some  creek 
or  harbour — John  Rattenbury  happened  to  find 
himself  at  Weymouth.  Into  that  port  also  came 
a  vessel  named  the  Lyme  Packet,  which  was  accus- 
tomed to  trade  between  Lyme  and  Guernsey. 
But  on  this  occasion  the  ship  had  just  received 
the  misfortune  of  carrying  away  her  bowsprit — 
possibly  in  the  Portland  Race — and  her  master, 
John  Cawley,  decided  to  run  into  Weymouth 
for  repairs. 

Whilst  these  were  being  taken  in  hand  what 
should  be  more  natural  than  that  the  Lyme 
Packefs  master  should  drift  into  a  local  public- 
house  ?  Having  brought  up  comfortably  in  that 
haven  of  rest,  he  was  promptly  discovered  by  his 
old  friend  Rattenbury,  who  had  also  made  for 
the  same  house  of  refreshment.  The  usual 
greetings  took  place,  and  Rattenbury  inquired  how 
it  was  that  Cawley  came  to  be  there,  and  an 
explanation  of  the  accident  followed.  According 
to  the  skipper's  own  version,  they  got  into  conver- 
sation, and,  over  a  glass  of  grog,  Rattenbury  volun- 
teered the  remark  that  if  Cawley  would  be  willing 
to  sail  across  to  Cherbourg  to  fetch  a  cargo  of 
spirits  he  would  pay  him  at  a  rate  that  would 
make  it  much  more  profitable  than  trading  be- 
tween Lyme  and  Guernsey.  In  fact  he  was 
willing  to  pay  Cawley  as  much  as  twelve  shillings 
a  cask,  adding  that   in  one  voyage  this  skipper, 

273  s 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

who  happened  also  to  be  owner,  would  make 
more  money  thereby  than  in  the  regular  course 
of  trade  in  a  twelvemonth. 

Such  a  proposition  was  more  than  a  tempting 
one,  and  Cawley  gave  the  matter  his  attention. 
Unable  to  resist  the  idea,  he  acquiesced,  it  being 
agreed  that  Rattenbury  should  accompany  him  to 
France,  where  they  would  take  in  a  cargo  of  spirits, 
Cawley  to  be  paid  his  twelve  shillings  for  every  cask 
they  were  able  to  bring  across.  So,  as  soon  as 
the  bowsprit  was  repaired  and  set  in  its  place, 
the  Lyme  Packet  cast  off  her  warps  and  ran  out 
of  Weymouth  harbour.  She  made  direct  for 
Cherbourg,  where  they  anchored  in  the  roadstead. 
Rattenbury  now  went  ashore  and  returned  accom- 
panied by  227  casks  of  spirits  made  up  in  half- 
ankers.  These  were  put  on  board  and  the  voyage 
back  to  England  commenced,  the  intention  being 
to  make  for  West  Bay  and  land  the  goods  some- 
where near  Sidmouth.  Having  arrived  off  the 
Devonshire  coast,  Rattenbury  took  the  Lyme 
Packet's  boat  and  rowed  himself  ashore,  landing 
at  Beer  Head,  his  object  being  to  get  assistance 
from  the  men  of  Sidmouth  for  landing  his  goods. 
It  was  then  about  1  a.m.  The  captain  of  the 
Lyme  Packet  kept  his  ship  standing  off  and  on 
during  the  night,  and  hovered  about  that  part 
of  the  coast  till  daybreak.  But  as  Rattenbury 
had  not  returned  by  the  time  the  daylight  had 

come   back,    Cawley  became   more  than   a   little 

274 


SOME   INTERESTING   ENCOUNTERS 

nervous  and  feared  lest  he  might  be  detected. 
Before  very  long — the  exact  time  was  6.30  a.m. — 
Robert  Aleward,  a  mariner  on  the  Revenue  cutter 
Scourge,  on  turning  his  eye  into  a  certain  direc- 
tion not  more  than  three  miles  away,  espied  this 
Lyme  Packet,  informed  his  commander,  and  a 
chase  was  promptly  begun.  Cawley,  too,  saw  that 
the  Lyme  Packet  had  been  observed,  and  began 
to  make  preparations  accordingly. 

He  let  draw  his  sheets,  got  the  Lyme  Packet 
to  foot  it  as  fast  as  she  could,  and  as  the  three 
intervening  miles  became  shorter  and  shorter  he 
busied  himself  by  throwing  his  casks  of  spirits 
overboard  as  quickly  as  he  and  his  crew  knew 
how.  The  distant  sail  he  had  noticed  in  the  early 
morning  had  all  too  truly  turned  out  to  be  the 
Revenue  cutter,  but  he  hoped  yet  to  escape  or  at 
any  rate  to  be  found  with  nothing  contraband  on 
board.  It  was  no  good,  however,  for  the  cruiser 
soon  came  up,  and  as  fast  as  the  Lyme  Packet  had 
dropped  over  the  half-ankers,  so  quickly  did  the 
Scourges  men  pick  them  up  again  in  the  cutter's 
boats.  Having  come  up  alongside,  the  cutter's 
commander,  Captain  JM'Lean,  went  on  board,  seized 
Cawley  and  his  ship  as  prisoners,  and  eventually 
took  both  into  Exmouth. 

Judicial  proceedings  followed  with  a  verdict  for 
the  King,  so  that  what  with  a  broken  bowsprit  and 
the  loss  of  time,  cargo,  ship,  and  liberty  the  voyage 

had  in  nowise  been  profitable  to  Cawley. 

275 


CHAPTER  XV 

A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

And  now  we  must  turn  to  an  occurrence  that  was 
rather  more  tragic  than  the  last,  though  the 
smugglers  had  only  themselves  to  blame. 

The  reader  is  already  aware  of  the  practice 
existing  at  this  time  of  actually  rowing  contraband 
across  from  France  to  England  in  large  boats 
pulling  four  or  more  oars.  As  one  who  have 
myself  rowed  a  craft  most  of  the  way  from  Calais 
to  Dover  in  a  flat  calm,  I  cannot  altogether  envy 
the  smugglers  their  job.  However,  on  May  11, 
1818,  Captain  Hawtayne,  commanding  H. M.S. 
Florida,  was  cruising  in  the  English  Channel  on 
the  look-out  for  contraband  craft.  Evidently  he 
had  received  certain  information,  for  at  eight  o'clock 
that  evening  he  ordered  Mr.  Keith  Stewart, 
master's  mate,  to  man  one  of  the  ship's  boats  and 
to  intercept  any  boat  that  might  leave  the  French 
coast  that  looked  at  all  of  a  suspicious  nature. 

This  order  was   duly  obeyed,     A   galley  was 

observed  some  time  before,  which  had  no  doubt 

aroused    Captain    Hawtayne's    suspicions.      This 

galley  had  been  seen  to  come  out  of  Calais  harbour 

and  to  be  rowed  towards  the  westward.     But  she 

276 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

must  have  spotted  the  Florida,  for  she  very  shortly- 
put  back.  But  before  long  Mr.  Stewart's  boat 
fell  in  with  another  craft — a  long  white  galley 
named  the  St.  Thomas.  This  was  now  about 
1  A.M.,  and  for  a  time  the  St.  Thomas  had  the 
impudence  to  pretend  she  was  a  French  police 
boat.  When  descried  she  was  about  five  or  six 
miles  to  the  N.N.  W.  of  Cape  Blanc  Nez,  and  was 
steering  to  the  westward.  The  night  was  dark,  for 
the  moon  had  disappeared  behind  a  cloud  as 
Mr.  Stewart's  boat  came  up  alongside  and  hailed 
the  strange  craft.  He  began  by  asking  what  boat 
she  was.  The  steersman  replied  by  inquiring  what 
boat  Mr.  Stewart's  was.  The  latter  answered  that 
it  was  the  King's  boat. 

At  that  time  the  St.  Thomas's  sails  were  up, 
and  now  Mr.  Stewart  ordered  the  steersman  to 
lower  them.  He  made  no  answer,  but,  turning 
round  to  his  crew  exhorted  them  to  pull  quickly, 
saying,  "  Give  way,  my  boys,  give  way."  There- 
upon the  smugglers  cheered  and  pulled  as  hard  as 
they  could.  Mr.  Stewart  again  ordered  the  steers- 
man to  lower  sail,  adding  that  should  he  fail  to  do 
so  he  would  fire  at  him.  But  this  did  not  awe  the 
St.  T'homas.  "  Fire  and  be  damned,"  answered 
the  steersman.  "  If  you  fire,  I  will  fire.  We  are 
as  well  armed  as  you  are."  Stewart  held  his  hand 
and  did  not  fire,  but  ordered  his  men  to  pull  closer. 
Coming    alongside,    he  addressed   the   steersman, 

saying  it  was  absolutely  essential  that  he  should 

277 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

examine  the  St.  Jliomas  and  that  he  knew  they 
were  EngUshmen,  adding  that  he  was  unwilhng 
that  there  should  be  any  bloodshed  by  firing  into 
the  boat. 

AVith  this  the  Florida  s  boat  pulled  up  on  the 
other's  quarter,  and  the  bowmen  hooked  on  with  the 
boat-hook.  The  St.  Thomas's  steersman  knocked 
the  boat-hook  away  and  threatened  to  shoot  the 


"  Fire  and  he  damned." 

bowman  if  he  did  not  let  go.  For  a  short  time 
thereafter  the  boats  separated  and  drifted  apart. 
But  a  second  time  his  Majesty's  boat  pulled  up 
alongside,  and  Mr.  Stewart  jumped  forward  into 
the  bows  and  ordered  one  of  his  own  men  to 
stand  by  ready  to  accompany  him  on  board.  The 
steersman  of  the  other,  however,  was  determined, 
and  resisted  Stewart's  attempt,  at  the  same  time 
presenting  a  pistol  and  threatening  to  shoot  the 

officer  if  he  advanced  one  step  further. 

278 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

On  that  the  men  of  St.  Thomas  ceased  rowing, 
drew  in  their  oars,  and  rushed  aft  to  where  the 
steersman  was  standing  in  the  stern.  Matters 
began  to  look  ugly,  and  being  convinced  that  these 
men  were  bent  on  desperate  resistance,  Mr.  Stewart 
was  compelled  to  fire  with  his  pistol  at  the  steers- 
man, who  immediately  fell,  Stewart  instantly 
leapt  aboard,  but  was  nearly  jostled  into  the  sea 
by  two  of  the  enemy.  He  ordered  the  whole  of 
this  crew  to  go  forward,  but  they  declined  to  obey, 
and  followed  this  up  by  threatening  that  if  they 
still  refused  he  would  have  to  use  his  sword  and 
cut  them  down.  The  only  member  of  his  own 
crew  who  had  already  got  aboard  as  well  was  his 
coxswain,  and  owing  either  to  himself  or  the 
action  of  the  coxswain  in  stepping  from  one  boat 
to  the  other,  the  two  craft  had  drifted  apart,  and 
for  a  time  there  was  considerable  risk  that  the  men, 
who  were  obvious  smugglers,  would  fall  on  these 
two.  But  the  naval  officer  had  already  cut  down 
two  of  their  number  with  his  sword,  and  after  that 
the  rest  went  forward  and  were  obedient.  The 
St.  Thomas  was  rather  a  large  craft  of  her  kind. 
Additional  to  her  sails,  she  rowed  five  on  one  side, 
six  on  the  other,  and  also  had  a  steersman,  the 
additional  oarsman  being  no  doubt  placed  according 
to  the  tide  so  that  his  work  might  in  some  measure 
counteract  the  great  leeway  which  is  made  by 
small  vessels  crossing  the  strong  tidal  stream  of  the 

English  Channel. 

J^79 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

As  all  was  now  quiet  on  board,  Mr.  Stewart 
searched  her  and  found  she  was  laden  with  kegs, 
which,  said  the  crew,  were  filled  with  tea  and 
tobacco,  these  kegs  being  as  usual  already  slung 
for  putting  ashore  or  sinking.  Later  on  it  was 
found  that  out  of  this  crew  no  less  than  six  were 
English,  besides  one  man  who  had  been  born  at 
Flushing  of  English  parentage,  though  he  called 
himself  a  Dutchman.  The  rest  were  all  foreigners. 
No  one  can  read  such  an  incident  as  this  without 
regretting  that  they  should  have  ever  led  to 
slaughter.  It  is  a  serious  thing  to  take  any  man's 
life  when  there  is  no  warfare,  and  it  is  still  more 
dismal  if  that  man  is  of  the  same  nationality  as 
the  one  who  deals  death.  If  the  whole  of  the  St. 
Thomas's  crew  had  been  killed  there  could  have 
been  no  blame  on  Mr.  Stewart,  for  he  was  only 
carrying  out  his  orders  and  acting  in  self-defence. 
The  smugglers  were  fully  aware  they  were  in  the 
wrong,  and  they  were  responsible  for  any  conse- 
quences that  might  accrue.  The  officer  had  given 
them  ample  warning,  and  he  had  only  used  severe 
measures  when  absolutely  compelled. 

But   there  is  a  more  satisfactory  side  to  this 

regrettable  incident,  which  one  is  only  too  glad  to 

be  able  to  record.     The  man  who   had   been   so 

badly  wounded  desired  to  speak  to  Mr.  Stewart, 

and  when  the  latter  had  approached  him  he  turned 

to  him  and  said : 

"  You've  killed  me  ;  sir,  I'm  dying." 
280 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

Mr.  Stewart  saw  that  this  was  perfectly  true, 
and  that  the  man  was  in  no  sense  exaggerating. 

"  Well,  I'm  sorry  for  it,"  he  said,  "  but  it  was 
your  own  fault." 

"Yes,"  answered  the  dying  man,  "I  know 
that,  but  I  hope  you  won't  make  things  worse  than 
they  are.     I  freely  forgive  you." 

This  was  the  steersman  who  had  so  strenuously 
opposed  the  boarding  of  the  St.  Thomas.  We  can 
quite  sympathise  with  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Stewart, 
and  be  thankful  that  those  lawless  days  of  violence 
have  long  since  passed.  If  you  talk  with  any  of 
the  Revenue  officers  still  living  who  were  em- 
ployed in  arresting,  lying  in  wait  for,  receiving 
information  concerning,  and  sometimes  having  a 
smart  fight  with  the  smugglers,  you  will  be  told 
how  altogether  hateful  it  was  to  have  to  perform 
such  a  duty.  It  is  such  incidents  as  the  above 
which  knock  all  romance  out  of  the  smuggling 
incidents.  An  encounter  with  fisticuffs,  a  few  hard 
blows,  and  an  arrest  after  a  smart  chase  or  a  daring 
artifice,  whilst  not  lessening  the  guilt  of  smuggling, 
cannot  take  away  our  interest.  Our  sympathies 
all  the  time  are  with  the  Revenue  men,  because  they 
have  on  their  side  right,  and  in  the  long-run  right 
must  eventually  conquer  might.  But,  as  against 
this,  the  poorer  classes  in  those  days  were  depressed 
in  ignorance  with  low  ideals,  and  lacking  many  of 
the  privileges  which  no  thinking  man  to-day  would 

refuse  them.     And  because  they  were   so  daring 

281 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

and  so  persistent,  because  they  had  so  much  to 
lose  and  (comparatively  speaking)  so  little  really  to 
gain,  we  extend  to  them  a  portion  of  our  sympathy 
and  a  large  measure  of  our  interest.  They  were 
entirely  in  the  wrong,  but  they  had  the  right  stuff 
in  them  for  making  the  best  kind  of  English 
sailormen,  the  men  who  helped  to  win  our  country's 
battles,  and  to  make  her  what  she  is  to-day  as 
the  owner  of  a  proud  position  in  the  world  of 
nations. 

Ten  of  these  twelve  men  were  taken  as  prisoners 
to  the  Florida,  and  the  St.  Thomas  with  her  cargo 
still  aboard  were  towed  by  the  Florida  into  Yar- 
mouth Roads,  and  there  delivered  to  the  Collector 
of  Customs.  She  was  found  to  be  a  54-foot  galley 
— a  tremendous  length  for  an  oared  craft — with  no 
deck,  and  rigged  with  three  lugsails  and  jib,  her 
size  working  out  at  about  11  tons  burthen.  On 
delivering  the  cargo  at  Yarmouth  it  was  found 
that  there  were  altogether  207  kegs.  The  ten 
uninjured  prisoners  were  taken  before  the  Yar- 
mouth maofistrates,  and  the  two  whom  the  officer 
had  cut  down  were  sent  on  shore  immediately 
the  Florida  arrived  in  that  port.  The  English 
steersman,  to  whose  case  we  call  special  attention, 
died,  two  others  were  fined  £100  each,  two  were 
sent  to  gaol,  and  one,  who  was  the  son  of  the  man 
who  died,  was  liberated,  as  it  was  shown  that  he 
had  only  been  a  passenger.     The  man  who  had 

been  born  of  English  parents  at  Flushing  was  also 

282 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

set  free,  as  the  magistrates  had  not  sufficient  proof 
that  he  was  a  British  subject. 

A  few  months  prior  to  the  above  occurrence 
Lieutenant  John  Wood  Rouse  was  in  command 
of  his  JNIajesty's  schooner  Pioneer.  On  the 
11th  of  January  1817  he  was  cruising  between 
Dungeness  and  Point  St.  Quintin,  when  his  at- 
tention was  drawn  to  a  lugger  whose  name  we 
may  state  by  anticipation  was  the  Wasp.  She 
appeared  to  be  making  for  the  English  coast  on  a 
N.W.  bearing,  and  was  distant  about  six  miles. 
In  order  to  cut  her  off  and  prevent  her  from 
making  the  shore  Lieutenant  Rouse  sent  one  of  his 
men  named  Case  with  a  galley  to  cross  her  bows. 
At  the  same  time  he  also  despatched  another 
of  his  boats  under  the  care  of  a  Mr.  AValton 
to  make  directly  for  the  lugger.  This  occurred 
about  10  A.M.,  and  the  chase  continued  till  about 
3.45  P.M.,  when  the  schooner  came  alongside  the 
lugger  that  had,  by  this  time,  been  seized  by  Mr. 
Case.  Lieutenant  Rouse  was  then  careful  to  take 
bearings  of  the  land,  and  fixed  his  position  so  that 
there  should  be  no  dispute  as  to  whether  the 
lugger  were  seized  within  the  legal  limits. 

On  capturing  the  lugger,  only  two  persons 
were  found  on  board,  and  these  were  at  once 
transferred  to  the  Pioneer.  To  show  what  liars 
these  smugglers  could  become,  one  of  these  two 
said  he  was  a  Frenchman,  but  his  name  was 
the    very    British-sounding    William    Stevenson. 

283 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

The  other  said  he  was  a  Dutchman.  Stevenson 
could  speak  not  a  word  of  French,  but  he  under- 
stood Enghsh  perfectly,  and  said  that  part  of  the 
cargo  was  intended  for  England  and  part  for 
Ireland,  which  happened  to  be  the  truth,  as  we 
shall  see  presently.  He  also  added  that  of  the 
crew  of  eight  three  were  Dutchmen  and  five 
English,  for  he  had  by  now  forgotten  his  own 
alleged  nationality. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Case's  boat  the 
lugger  had  hoisted  out  her  tub-boat  and  rowed 
away  as  fast  as  the  waves  would  let  her,  with  all 
the  crew  except  these  two.  She  was  found  to  have 
a  cargo  of  tobacco  and  tea,  as  well  as  Geneva, 
all  being  made  up  into  suitable  dimensions  for 
landing.  On  examining  the  ship's  papers  it  was 
indicated  that  she  was  bound  for  Bilbao  in  Spain. 
But  these  papers  had  evidently  been  obtained  in 
readiness  for  such  an  occurrence  as  the  advent 
of  the  schooner.  When  it  is  mentioned  that 
this  lugger  was  only  a  large  galley  with  abso- 
lutely no  deck  whatever,  and  capable  of  being 
rowed  by  ten  men,  it  was  hardly  credible  that 
she  would  be  the  kind  of  craft  to  sail  round 
Ushant  and  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  "  Was 
she  calculated  to  carry  a  cargo  to  Spain?"  asked 
counsel  at  the  trial  two  years  later.  "  I  will  risk 
my  experience  as  a  sailor,"  answered  one  of  the 
witnesses,  "that  I  would  not  have  risked  my  life 

in  a  boat  of  that  description." 

284 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

But,  unfortunately  for  the  smugglers,  there  was 
discovered  on  board  a  tin  box  which  absolutely 
gave  their  case  away.  In  this  tin  box  was  found 
an  instructive  memorandum  which  it  requires  no 
very  great  ingenuity  to  decipher,  and  ran  some- 
thing as  follows  : — 

"  For  13.  Valden. 

From  Tusca  Tower  to  Blackwater  Hill,  allow- 
ing half  a  point  for  the  tide. 

For  W.  Martensons  Glyn. 

From  Tusca  N.E.  until  Tara  Hill  bears  N.W. 

10  pieces  of  chocolate   ...  10  gulders. 
10  pieces  of  gays  ^ 10  ditto. 

A  proportion  of  G.,  say  one-third,  and  let  it 
be  strong  as  possible.  A  vessel  coming 
in  the  daytime  should  come  to  anchor 
outside  the  banks. 

At  Clocker  Head,  Bryan  King. 

At  the  Mountain  Fort,  Henry  Curran. 

And  Racklen,  Alexander  M'Donald." 

Now  anyone  on  consulting  a  chart  or  map 
of  the  south-west  and  west  of  the  British  Isles 
can  easily  see  that  the  above  was  just  a  crude 
form  of  sailing   directions   to   guide   the   ship   to 

1  "  Gays "  was  evidently  trade  slang  to  denote  bandanna  silk 
handkerchiefs,  which  were  frequently  smuggled,  and  some  of  which 
were  found  on  boai'd. 

285 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

land  the  goods  at  various  places  in  Ireland,  especi- 
ally when  the  box  also  contained  a  paper  to  the 
following  effect : — 

"The  Land's  End  to  Tusca  135  miles  N.N.E. 
A  berth  off  Scilly  150  N.E.JN." 

The  ship  was  to  take  such  goods  as  mentioned 
to  the  above  individuals,  and  here  were  the  land- 
marks and  courses  and  the  division  of  the  goods. 
*'  A  proportion  of  G,"  of  course,  referred  to  the 
amount  of  Geneva,  but  the  gentleman  for  whom 
it  ^vas  intended  did  not  get  it  "as  strong  as 
possible."  Not  one  of  these  places  mentioned 
was  within  hundreds  of  miles  of  Bilbao,  but  all  the 
seamarks  were  to  guide  the  mariners  to  Ireland. 
Tara  Hill,  Tuscar  Rock  and  so  on  were  certainly 
not  Spanish.  But  these  instructions  were  by  no 
means  uncommon.  They  were  technically  known 
among  smugglers  as  "  spot-notes,"  that  is  to  say, 
indications  of  the  spots  where  the  goods  were 
to  be  landed.  AVhen  Stevenson  found  that  his 
captors  had  become  possessed  of  these  papers 
he  was  considerably  confused  and  embarrassed, 
even  going  so  far  as  to  ask  for  them  to  be  given 
back  to  him — a  request  which  was  naturally 
declined. 

The  lugger  was  taken  captive  into  Dover,  and 
Stevenson,  being  an  Englishman,  was  committed 
to  gaol  in  the  Dover  town  prison,  from  which  he 
succeeded  in  escaping.     The   Dutchman  was  let 

286 


A  TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

off,  as  he  was  a  foreigner.  The  men  who  had 
rowed  away  in  the  tub-boat  escaped  to  France, 
having  taken  with  them  out  of  the  galley  one 
parcel  of  bandanna  handkerchiefs.  The  rule  in 
these  cases  was  to  fine  the  culprit  £100  if 
he  was  a  landsman  ;  but  if  he  was  a  sailor  he 
was  impressed  into  the  Navy  for  a  period  of 
five  years. 

There  must  be  many  a  reader  who  is  familiar 
with  some  of  those  delightful  creeks  of  Devonshire 
and  Cornwall,  and  has  been  struck  with  the  natural 
facilities  which  are  offered  to  anyone  with  a  leaning 
for  smuggling.  Among  these  there  will  rise  to 
the  imagination  that  beautiful  inlet  on  whose  left 
bank  stands  Salcombe.  Towards  the  end  of  June 
in  the  year  1818  William  Webber,  one  of  the 
Riding  officers,  received  information  that  some 
spirits  had  been  successfully  run  ashore  at  the 
mouth  of  this  harbour,  "  a  place,"  remarked  a  legal 
luminary  of  that  time,  "  which  is  very  often  made 
the  spot  for  landing  "  this  class  of  goods. 

Webber  therefore  obtained  the  assistance  of  a 
private  in  the  15th  Regiment,  and  early  in  the 
evening,  as  he  had  been  informed  that  the  goods 
were  not  yet  carried  away,  but  still  were  lying  de- 
posited somewhere  near  the  beach,  proceeded  to 
the  spot.  He  and  the  hussar  arrived  at  the  place 
about  nine  o'clock  on  this  June  evening  and 
managed  to   conceal  themselves  behind  a  hedge. 

They  had  not  very  long  to  wait  before  they  heard 

287 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  sound  of  some  men  talking,  and  a  man  named 
James  Thomas  was  observed  to  remark  : 

"  We  couldn't  have  had  a  better  time  for 
smuggling  if  we  had  lain  abed  and  prayed  for  it." 

Through  the  openings  in  the  hedge  Webber 
and  the  hussar  could  see  the  outline  of  the  de- 
linquent, and  the  voice  was  more  than  familiar  to 
the  Riding  officer.  We  can  readily  appreciate 
Thomas's  ecstasy  when  we  remark  that  it  had  now 
become  rather  dark  and  a  sea-haze  such  as  fre- 
quently comes  up  in  fine  weather  after  a  hot  day 
was  beginning  to  spread  itself  around.  For  some 
time  longer  the  two  men  continued  to  remain  in 
their  hiding-place,  and  then  heard  that  Thomas 
and  his  accomplice  had  become  joined  by  a  number 
of  other  people.  The  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  being 
led  down  to  the  beach  was  also  distinctly  heard, 
and  there  were  many  signs  of  accelerated  activity 
going  on.  Presently  there  came  upon  the  ears  of 
the  Riding  officers  the  noise  which  proceeds  from 
the  rattling  of  casks,  and  from  some  convenient 
hiding-place,  where  they  had  remained,  these  were 
at  last  brought  forth,  slings  were  prepared,  and 
then  the  load  was  placed  on  the  backs  of  the  several 
horses. 

At  this  point,  deeming  that  the  time  had  come 
to  interfere,  the  Riding  officer  and  the  hussar 
crept  out  from  their  place  of  concealment  and 
advanced  towards  the  band  of  smugglers.  But, 
alert  as  hares,  the  latter,  so  soon  as  they  realised 

288 


A  TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

their  own  danger,  took  to  their  heels  and  ran  helter- 
skelter  away.  Thomas,  however,  was  too  wrath 
to  hasten,  and  began  to  curse  his  men.  He  began 
by  complaining  that  the  kegs  which  had  been 
brought  forth  were  wonderfully  "  slack,"  that  is 
to  say  they  were  not  as  full  as  they  might  have 
been,  hinting  that  someone  had  been  helping  him- 
self to  their  contents  of  spirits.  "  If  you  had 
brought  these  a  little  sooner,"  referring  doubtless 
to  both  horses  and  casks,  "  we  should  have  been 
three  miles  on  our  way  home." 

But  scarcely  had  he  finished  his  sentence  than 
the  last  of  his  band  had  fled,  leaving  him  behind 
with  both  horses  and  casks.  He  was  promptly 
arrested  and  eleven  months  later  prosecuted  by  the 
Attorney-General. 

Because  the  smugglers  were  so  frequently 
assisted  in  their  work  by  those  night  signals  to 
which  we  alluded  some  time  back  it  had  been  made 
a  penal  offence  to  show  a  light  for  the  purpose  of 
signalling  within  six  miles  of  the  coast.  Arising 
out  of  such  an  offence,  John  Newton  and  another 
found  themselves  prosecuted  for  an  incident  that 
occurred  about  the  middle  of  December  1819. 
The  comparative  seclusion  of  that  big  bight  which 
extends  from  the  Bill  of  Portland  to  the  promon- 
tory well  known  to  many  readers  as  Hope's  or 
Pope's  Nose,  was  much  favoured  by  the  smuggling 
fraternity.  This  West  Bay  was  well  out  of  the 
English  Channel   and   the  track  of  most  of  his 

289  T 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Majesty's  ships,  and  there  were  plenty  of  hills  and 

high  ground  from  which  to  show  friendly  signals 

to   their   comrades.     Rattenbury  and  Cawley,  as 

we  related,  had  in  vain  tried  to  land  their  cargo 

hereabouts,  though  there  were  many  others  who, 

before  the  Revenue  cutters  became  smarter  at  their 

duty,  had  been  able  to  run  considerable  quantities 

of  dutiable  goods  in  the  vicinity  of  Sidmouth  and 

Lyme. 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  winter's  day  two  small 

sailing  craft  had  been  noticed  by  the  Preventive 

shore  officers  to  be  tacking  about  near  the  land, 

but  did  not  appear  to  be  engaged  in  fishing.     It 

was  therefore  reasonably  supposed  they  were  about 

to  run  some  contraband  ashore  after  dark.     A  Mr. 

Samuel  Stagg  and  a  Mr.  Joseph  Pratt,  stationed 

at  Sidmouth  in  the  Preventive  service,  were  all  the 

time  keeping   a  smart   look-out  on   these  boats, 

and  somewhere  about  fiv^e  o'clock  in  the  evening 

launched  their  oared- cutter  and  rowed  off  towards 

them.     After  a  chase  they  came  alongside  the  first, 

which  was  named  the  Nimble^  and   boarded  her. 

They  found  therein  three  men  consisting  of  John 

Newton,  John   Bartlett,  and   Thomas   Westlake; 

but  as  they  searched  her  and  found  no  trace  of  any 

casks  or  packages  of  tobacco,  the  Preventive  men 

left  her  to  row  after  the  other  craft.     It  was  now, 

of  course,  quite  dark,  and  there  was  blowing  a  nice 

sailing  breeze.     Scarcely  had  they  started  to  row 

away  before  the  Nimble  hoisted  sail  and  by  means 

290 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

of  flint  and  steel  began  to  make  fire-signals,  and 

kept  on  so  doing  for  the  next  half  hour.     This 

was,  of  course,  a  signal  for  the  second  boat,  and  as 

soon  as  the  latter  observed  these  signs  she  also 

made  sail  and  hurried  away  into  the  darkness  of 

the  bay.     It  was  impossible  for  the  officers  to  get 

up  to  her,  for  they  would  stand  every  chance  of 

losing  themselves  in  the  vast  expanse  of  West  Bay, 

and  the  craft  might  take  it  into  her  head  to  run 

down  Channel  perhaps  into  Cornwall  or  eastwards 

round  to  Portland,  where  goods  often  were  landed. 

Therefore  deeming  one  craft  in  arrest  to  be  worth 

two  sailing  about  in  West  Bay,  they  went  back 

and   seized  the  Nimble.     The  three  men,  whose 

names  we  have  given,  were  taken  ashore,  tried,  and 

found  guilty.     But  as  illustrative  of  the  times  it  is 

worth  noting  that  John  Bartlett  had  before  this 

occurrence  actually  been  engaged  for  some  time  as 

one  of  the  crew  of  that  Revenue  cutter  about 

which  we  spoke  some  time  back  in  this  very  bay. 

And  so,  now,  "  for  having  on  the  high  seas,  within 

six  miles  of  the    coast,  made  a  certain  light  on 

board  a  boat  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  signal 

to  a  certain  person  or  persons,"  he  was,  in  company 

with  his  two  colleagues,  condemned. 

That  the  age  of  lawless  mobs  was  by  no  means 

past,  may  be  seen  from  the  incident  which  now 

follows.     It  had  been  thought  that  the  Act  which 

had    been  passed,    forbidding   any    boat   built   to 

row   with  more  than  four  oars,  would  have  put 

291 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

a  considerable  check  to  activities  of  the  smugglers. 
But  these  boats  not  only  continued  to  be  built, 
but  also  to  be  navigated  and  used  for  the  contra- 
band purposes.  The  Revenue  officers  of  the 
district  of  Christchurch,  Hants,  had  reason  in 
April  of  1821  to  believe  that  a  boat  was  being 
constructed  in  their  neighbourhood  of  such  dimen- 
sions and  capable  of  being  rowed  with  such  a 
number  of  oars  as  made  her  liable  to  seizure. 
Therefore,  taking  with  them  a  couple  of  dragoons, 
two  of  these  Revenue  officers  proceeded  on  their 
way  to  the  district  near  Milton,  which  is,  roughly 
speaking,  the  centre  of  that  bay  which  is  bounded 
on  one  side  by  Christchurch  Head,  and  on  the 
other  by  Hurst  Point.  They  had  not  arrived 
long  at  their  destination  before  it  was  found  that 
about  thirty  men  had  concealed  themselves  in 
an  adjoining  wood.  The  officers  had  found  the 
boat  they  were  looking  for  in  a  meadow,  and 
were  about  to  seize  it. 

It  was  found  to  be  covered  over  with  sails, 
having  been  hidden  in  the  meadow  for  safety's 
sake,  for  since  it  was  made  to  row  seven  aside 
it  was  clearly  liable  to  forfeiture.  One  of  the 
two  officers  now  went  off  to  fetch  assistance,  and 
whilst  he  was  away  two  of  the  smugglers  came 
forth  and  fraternising  with  the  two  dragoons, 
offered  them  some  brandy  which  they  drank.  In 
a   short    while    both   soldiers    had   taken    such   a 

quantity  of  the  spirits  that  they  became  utterly 

292 


A   TRAGIC   INCIDENT 

intoxicated  and  helpless.  One  of  the  two  smug- 
glers then  gave  a  whistle,  and  about  thirty  men 
issued  forth  from  the  wood,  some  of  them  in 
various  forms  of  disguise.  One  had  a  deer's  skin 
over  his  face,  others  had  their  faces  and  hands 
coloured  with  blue  clay  and  other  means.  These 
men  angrily  demanded  from  the  solitary  officer 
the  sails  which  he  had  removed  from  the  boat, 
but  their  requests  were  met  by  refusal.  The  mob 
then  seized  hold  of  the  sails,  and  a  tussle  followed, 
whereupon  the  officer  threatened  to  shoot  them. 
He  managed  to  retain  hold  of  one  sail,  while 
the  mob  held  the  other  and  took  it  away. 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  other 
officer  returned  with  the  Lymington  Preventive 
officer,  two  Custom  House  men,  and  three  dragoons. 
They  found  the  intoxicated  soldiers,  one  of  whom 
was  lying  prostrate  on  the  field,  while  the  other 
was  ludicrously  and  vainly  endeavouring  to  mount 
his  horse.  The  seven  men  now  united,  and  got 
a  rope  by  which  they  began  to  remove  the  boat 
from  its  hiding-place,  when  a  great  many  more 
people  came  on  to  the  scene  in  great  indignation. 
As  many  as  fifty,  at  least,  were  now  assembled, 
and  threats  and  oaths  were  bandied  about.  During 
this  excitement  some  of  the  crowd  cut  the  rope, 
while  a  man  named  Thomas  Vye  jumped  into 
the  boat,  and  rather  than  see  her  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  endeavoured  to  stave  her  in. 

The  remainder  of  the  story  is  but  brief.     For, 
293 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

at  last,  the  seven  men  succeeded  in  pulling  the 
boat  away  in  spite  of  all  the  crowd's  efforts,  and 
dragged  it  even  across  a  couple  of  fields,  where 
there  was  a  road.  Here  a  conveyance  was  waiting 
ready,  and  thus  the  boat  was  taken  away,  and 
at  a  later  date  Vye  was  duly  prosecuted  by  the 
Crown  for  his  share  in  the  proceedings. 


294 


CHAPTER   XVI 

ADMINISTRATIVE    REFORMS 

By  an  Order  in  Council  of  May  5,  1821,  it  was 
directed  that  henceforth  all  sums  which  were 
awarded  for  arrests  on  shore  of  any  person  con- 
cerned in  smuggling  should  be  paid  in  the  follow- 
ing proportions.  He  who  made  the  arrest  was 
to  have  three-quarters  of  the  reward,  which  was 
to  be  divided  into  equal  proportions  if  there  were 
more  than  one  person.  If  there  were  any  officer 
or  officers  present  at  the  time  of  arrest,  these 
were  to  have  one  quarter  of  the  reward.  The 
officer  commanding  the  party  was  to  have  two 
shares,  each  of  the  other  officers  having  one  share. 
The  reward  payable  for  a  smuggler  convicted 
and  transferred  to  the  Navy  amounted  to  £20. 
And  here  let  it  be  added  that  the  persons  liable 
to  arrest  in  regard  to  smuggling  were:  (1)  Those 
found  on  smuggling  vessels ;  (2)  Those  found 
unloading  or  assisting  to  unload  such  craft ;  (3) 
Those  found  to  be  carrying  away  the  landed 
goods  or  concerned  in  hiding  the  same.  But 
before  conviction  it  was  essential  to  prove  that 
the    seized  spirits   were   foreign ;   that  the   vessel 

had  come  from  foreign  parts ;  that  the  party  who 

295 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

detained  the  smugglers  was  a  Customs  Officer ; 
and  that  the  offenders  were  taken  before  a  proper 
magistrate. 

We  now  come  to  the  year  1821,  when  the 
Commissioners  of  Inquiry  made  an  important 
report  touching  the  Revenue  service.  They 
suggested  that  the  Riding  Officers  were  not  valu- 
able in  proportion  to  their  cost,  and  so  it  came 
about  that  the  Inspectors  and  superior  officers, 
as  well  as  a  large  number  of  the  inferior  classes, 
were  dispensed  with,  but  a  small  percentage  of 
the  lowest  class  was  retained  as  a  Preventive 
Mounted  Guard,  the  annual  cost  of  this  being 
only  the  modest  sum  of  £5000.  This  Preventive 
Guard  was  to  be  employed  in  watching  for  any 
gatherings  of  smugglers,  and  whenever  any  goods 
might  be  landed  and  carried  up  into  the  country, 
they  were  to  be  followed  up  by  the  members 
of  this  guard.  They  were  also  to  maintain  a 
communication  between  the  diff'erent  stations. 

Up  to  the  year  1821,  from  those  early  days  of 
the  seventeenth  century  and  earlier,  the  Revenue 
cruisers  were  the  most  important  of  all  the  means 
employed  for  suppressing  smuggling.  Rut  the 
same  inquiry  which  had  made  its  recommenda- 
tions regarding  the  Riding  Officers  also  reported 
that  the  efficacy  of  the  vessels  employed  in  protect- 
ing the  Revenue  was  not  proportionate  to  the 
expense  incurred  in  their  maintenance.  They 
advised,  therefore,  that  their  numbers  should  be 

296 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

reduced,  and  that  whereas  they  had  in  1816  come 
under  the  care  of  the  Admiralty,  they  should  now 
be  restored  to  the  control  of  the  Customs.  But  the 
officers  and  crews  of  these  cruisers  were  still  to  be 
selected  by  the  Admiralty.  And  thus  in  the  year 
1822  these  recommendations  were  carried  into 
effect,  and  a  new  order  inaugurated. 

It  was  by  a  Treasury  Minute  of  February  15, 
1822,  that  it  was  directed  that  the  whole  of  the 
force  employed  for  the  prevention  of  smuggling 
"  on  the  coast  of  this  kingdom,"  was  to  be  con- 
solidated and  transferred,  and  placed  under  the 
direction  of  the  Customs  Board.  This  force  was 
to  consist  of  the  cruisers,  Preventive  Water-guard, 
and  Riding  Officers.  And  henceforth  the  com- 
manders of  cruisers  were  to  receive  their  orders 
from  the  Controller-General  of  the  Coastguard, 
who  was  to  be  responsible  to  the  Board  of  Customs. 
The  one  exception  to  this  change  was  that  the 
Coast  Blockade  on  the  coast  of  Kent  and  Sussex, 
which  had  shown  itself  so  satisfactory  that  it  was  left 
unaltered.  The  Preventive  Water-guard  became 
the  Coastguard,  and  this — rather  than  the  cruisers 
— should  form  the  chief  force  for  prevention  of 
smuggling,  the  Riding  Officers,  or  Preventive 
Mounted  Guard,  being  merely  auxiliary  by  land, 
and  the  cruisers  merely  auxiliary  by  sea.  To  what 
extent  the  number  of  cruisers  were  reduced  can  be 
estimated  by  stating  that  whereas  there  were  forty- 
seven  of  these  Revenue  craft  employed  in  England 

297 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

in  1821,  there  were  only  thirty-three  two  years  later, 
these  consisting  of  the  Mermaid,  Stag,  Badger, 
Ranger,  Sylvia,  Scout,  Fox,  Lively,  Hawk,  Came- 
leon.  Hound, Rose,  Scourge,  Repulse,  Eagle,  Tartar, 
Adder,  Lion,  Dove,  Lapwing,  Greyhound,  Swallow, 
Active,  Harpy,  Royal  George,  Fancy,  Cheerful, 
Newcharter,  Fly,  Seaflower,  Nimble,  Sprightly, 
Dolphin. 

The  first-class  cruisers  were  of  140  tons  and 
upwards,  the  second  class  of  from  100  to  140 
tons,  and  the  third  class  were  under  100  tons. 
In  1824  the  cruisers  on  the  Irish  coast  and  the 
Scotch  coast  were  also  transferred  to  the  Cus- 
toms Board,  and  from  that  date  the  entire  Coast- 
guard service,  with  the  exception  of  the  Coast 
Blockade,  was  directed,  as  stated,  by  the  Con- 
troller-General. 

In  the  year  1829,  the  instructions  were  issued 
to  the  Coastguard.  Afloat,  these  applied  to  the 
commanders,  mates,  gunners,  stewards,  carpenters, 
mariners,  and  boys  of  the  cruisers.  Ashore,  they 
were  applicable  to  the  Chief  Officers,  Chief  Boat- 
men, Mounted  Guard,  Commissioned  Boatmen,  and 
Boatmen,  both  sections  being  under  their  respective 
commanders.  Each  member  of  the  Mounted  Guard 
was  provided  with  a  good  horse  and  sword,  with 
an  iron  scabbard  of  the  Light  Cavalry  pattern, 
as  well  as  a  couple  of  pistols  and  ammunition.  The 
cruiser  commanders  were  again  enjoined  to  keep 

the  sea  in  bad   weather   and   at  night,  nor  were 

298 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

they  permitted  to  come  to  harbour  except  when 
really  necessary. 

In  1831  came  the  next  change,  when  the  Coast- 
guard took  the  place  of  the  Coast  Blockade,  which 
had  done  excellent  duty  for  so  many  years  in  Kent 
and  Sussex.  The  aim  was  to  make  the  Coastguard 
service  national  rather  than  departmental.  To 
promote  the  greatest  efficiency  it  was  become 
naval  rather  than  civil.  It  was  to  be  for  the  benefit 
of  the  country  as  a  nation,  than  for  the  protecting 
merely  of  its  revenues.  Thus  there  was  a  kind 
of  somersault  performed  ;  and  the  whole  of  the 
original  idea  capsized.  Whereas  the  Preventive 
service  had  been  instituted  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Customs,  and  then,  as  an  after-thought,  became 
employed  for  protection  against  the  enemy  across 
the  Channel,  so  now  it  was  to  be  exactly  the 
other  way  on.  The  Revenue  was  to  be  subservient 
to  the  greater  and  national  factor. 

In  this  same  1831,  the  number  of  cruisers  had 
risen  to  thirty-five  in  England,  but  many  of  them 
had  tenders.  There  were  altogether  twenty-one 
of  these  latter  and  smaller  craft,  their  tonnage 
varying  from  twenty-five  to  sixty.  And  the  next 
year  the  Mounted  Guard  was  reorganised  and  the 
Riding  Officers  disappeared.  With  the  cordon  of 
cruisers  afloat,  and  the  more  efficient  Coastguard 
service  ashore,  there  was  a  double  belt  round  our 
coasts,  which  could  be  relied  upon  both  for  national 
and  Revenue  services.     By  this  time,  too,  steam 

299 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

was  invading  the  domain  of  the  ship,  and  in  1839, 
besides  the  old-fashioned  saiHng  cutters  and  tenders, 
there  was  a  steamer  named  the  Vulcan,  of  200 
tons,  taken  into  the  service,  her  duty  being  to 
cruise  about  and  search  for  suspicious  vessels.  In 
some  parts  of  the  country,  also,  there  was  assist- 
ance still  rendered  by  the  Mounted  Guard  for 
watching  the  roads  leading  inland  from  the  beach 
to  prevent  goods  being  brought  up. 

With  this  increased  efficiency  it  was  but  natural 
that  a  change  should  come  over  the  character  of 
the  smuggling.  Force  was  fast  going  out  of  date. 
Except  for  a  number  of  rather  startling  occasions, 
but  on  the  whole  of  exceptional  occurrence,  violence 
had  gone  out  of  fashion.  But  because  of  the 
increased  vigilance  along  the  coast  the  smuggler 
was  hard  put  to  devise  new  methods  of  running 
his  goods  into  the  country  without  being  surprised 
by  the  officials.  Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  old  syndi- 
cates of  French  and  Englishmen,  who  made  smug- 
gling a  roaring  trade,  had  died  out.  The  armed 
cutters  had  long  since  given  way  to  the  luggers 
as  the  smuggling  craft.  Stealth  had  taken  the 
place  of  violence,  concealments  and  sunken  goods 
were  favoured  rather  than  those  daring  and  out- 
rageous incursions  which  had  been  in  the  past  wont 
to  take  place. 

And  yet,  just  as  a  long-standing  illness  cannot 

be  cured  at  once,  but  keeps  recurring,  so  there  were 

periods  when  the  smuggling  disease  kept  breaking 

300 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

out  and  seemed  to  get  worse.  Such  a  period  was 
that  between  1825  and  1843,  but  it  was  pointed 
out  to  the  Treasury  that  so  long  as  the  high  duties 
continued,  "  Your  Lordships  must  look  only  to  the 
efficiency  of  the  Coastguard  for  the  continued 
absence  of  successful  enterprises,  and  that  smug- 
gling would  immediately  revive  upon  the  slightest 
symptom  of  relaxation  on  the  part  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  Customs."  The  service  was  therefore 
glad  to  encourage  Naval  Lieutenants  to  serve  as 
Chief  Officers  of  the  Coastguard. 

Among  the  general  instructions  issued  to  the 
Coastguard  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  1841,  were 
definite  orders  to  the  commanders  of  cruisers. 
Thus,  if  ever  a  cruiser  ran  aground  the  commander 
was  to  report  it,  with  full  particulars  of  the  case 
and  extent  of  damage.  During  the  summer  season 
the  Inspecting  Commanders  were  to  take  oppor- 
tunities for  trying  the  comparative  speeds  of  these 
cruisers.  Whenever  cruisers  should  meet  at  sea, 
in  any  roadstead  or  in  any  harbour,  they  were  to 
hoist  their  ensigns  and  pendants  as  an  acknow- 
ledgment that  each  had  seen  the  other ;  and 
when  both  had  thus  hoisted  their  colours  they 
might  immediately  be  hauled  down.  This  was 
also  to  be  done  when  one  cruiser  should  pass 
another  at  anchor. 

Cruisers  were  again  reminded  that  they  were  to 

wear  only  the  ensigns  and  pendants  appointed  for 

the  Revenue  service,  and  not  such  as  are  used  in 

301 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  Royal  Navy.  Nor  were  salutes  to  be  fired  by 
cruisers  except  on  particular  and  extraordinary 
occasions.  It  was  further  ordered  that  no  altera- 
tion was  to  be  made  in  the  hull,  masts,  yards, 
sails,  or  any  fitments  of  the  cruisers,  without  the 
sanction  of  the  Controller-General.  To  prevent 
unnecessary  expense  on  fitting  out  or  refitting  of 
any  of  the  cruisers,  the  use  of  leather  was  to  be 
restricted  to  the  following :  the  leathering  of  the 
main  pendants,  runners  in  the  wake  of  the  boats 
when  in  tackles,  the  collar  of  the  mainstay,  the  nip 
of  the  main-sheet  block  strops,  leathering  the 
bowsprint  traveller,  the  spanshackle  for  the  bow- 
sprit, topmast  iron,  the  four  reef-earings  three 
feet  from  the  knot.  All  old  copper,  copper- 
sheathing,  nails,  lead,  iron  and  other  old  materials 
which  were  of  any  value,  were  to  be  collected  and 
allowed  for  by  the  tradesmen  who  perform  the 
repairs.  New  sails  were  to  be  tried  as  soon  as 
received  in  order  to  ascertain  their  fitness.  Both 
boats  and  cruisers  were  also  to  be  painted  twice  a 
year,  above  the  water-line,  this  to  be  done  by  the 
crews  themselves. 

A  general  pilot  was  allowed  for  two  months 
when  a  cruiser  arrived  on  a  new  station,  and  an 
occasional  pilot  was  permissible  in  cases  of  neces- 
sity, but  only  licensed  pilots  were  to  be  employed. 
General  pilots  were  paid  6s.  a  day  as  well  as  the 
usual  rations   of  provisions.      The  cruisers   were 

provided  with  charts  of  the  coast  off  which  they 

302 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

were  employed.  Naval  officers  holding  appoint- 
ments as  Inspecting  Commanders  of  cruisers, 
Chief  Officers  of  stations  and  Mates  of  cruisers 
were  ordered  to  wear  the  greatcoat  established  by 
any  Admiralty  regulation  in  force  for  the  time 
being,  with  epaulettes,  cap,  and  side-arms,  accord- 
ing to  their  ranks.  Commanders  of  cruisers,  if  not 
naval  officers,  were  to  wear  a  blue  lappel-coat, 
buttoned  back  with  nine  Coastguard  uniform 
buttons  and  notched  button-holes,  plain  blue 
stand-up  collar  with  gold  lace  loop  and  button  on 
each  side  thereof — the  loop  to  be  five  inches  long, 
and  the  lace  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  breadth. 
There  were  also  to  be  three  buttons  and  notched 
button-holes  on  each  cuff  and  pocket,  as  well  as 
three  buttons  in  the  folds  of  each  skirt. 

The  waistcoat  was  to  be  white  or  blue  kersey- 
mere, with  uniform  buttons,  white  or  blue  panta- 
loons or  trousers,  with  boots,  a  blue  cloth  cap 
similar  in  shape  to  those  worn  in  the  Royal  Navy, 
with  two  bands  of  gold  lace  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  broad,  one  at  the  top  and  the  other  at  the 
bottom  of  the  headpiece.  The  sword  was  to  have 
a  plain  lace  knot  and  fringe  tassel,  with  a  black 
leather  belt.  AVhite  trousers  were  worn  on  all 
occasions  of  inspection  and  other  special  occasions 
between  April  23  and  October  14.  Blue  trousers 
were  to  be  worn  for  the  other  months. 

In  1849  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Board  of 

Customs  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  number 

303 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  cruisers  might  be  reduced,  and  the  Landguard 
practically  abolished  ;  but  it  was  deemed  advisable 
that  these  protections  being  removed,  the  coastline 
of  defence  ought  to  be  strengthened  by  securing 
the  services  of  Naval  Lieutenants  who  had  retired 
from  the  Navy  on  half-pay.  So  the  number  of 
cruisers  and  tenders  which  in  1844  had  reached 
seventy-six,  and  in  1849  were  fifty-two,  had  now 
sunk  to  fifty  in  the  year  1850.  In  1854, 
on  the  outbreak  of  war  with  Russia,  3000  men 
were  drafted  into  the  Navy  from  the  Coastguard, 
their  places  being  filled  by  pensioners.  During 
the  war  considerable  service  was  also  rendered  by 
the  Revenue  cruisers,  by  capturing  the  Russian 
ships  in  the  Northern  Seas,  for  we  must  recollect 
that,  just  as  in  the  wars  with  France,  there  were 
two  centres  to  be  dealt  with,  viz.,  in  the  north  and 
south.  The  war  with  Russia,  as  regards  the  sea 
service,  was  prosecuted  both  in  the  Narrow  Seas 
and  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  Russian  trade  was 
badly  cut  up.  As  many  as  eleven  Russian  ships 
were  captured  by  means  of  these  British  cutters, 
and  no  less  than  eight  of  these  prizes  were 
condemned.  The  fact  is  worthy  of  being  borne  in 
mind  when  considering  the  history  of  these  craft 
which  have  long  since  passed  from  performing 
active  service. 

The  next  modification  came  in  1856,  when  it 
was  resolved  to  transfer  the  control  of  the  Coast- 
guard to  the  Admiralty ;  for  in  spite  of  the  great 

304 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

change  which  had  been  brought  about  in  1831,  all 
the  Coastguard  officers  and  men  while  being 
appointed  by  the  Admiralty,  were  none  the  less 
controlled  by  the  Customs.  However,  this 
condition  was  now  altered,  but  in  the  teeth  of 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Customs,  who  repre- 
sented to  the  Treasury  that  considerable  incon- 
venience would  result  from  this  innovation.  But 
on  the  1st  of  October  1856,  the  control  of  the 
Coastguard  was  transferred  to  the  Admiralty,  as  it 
had  been  foreshadowed.  And  with  that  we  see 
practically  the  last  stage  in  the  important  develop- 
ment which  had  been  going  on  for  some  years 
past.  It  was  practically  the  finale  of  the  tendency 
towards  making  the  service  naval  rather  than 
civil. 

For  the  moment,  I  am  seeking  to  put  the 
reader  in  possession  of  a  general  idea  of  the 
administrative  features  of  the  service,  which  is  our 
subject,  during  the  period  between  1822-1856. 
At  the  last- mentioned  date  our  period  devoted  to 
cutters  and  smugglers  practically  ends.  But 
before  proceeding  to  deal  with  the  actual  incidents 
and  exciting  adventures  embraced  by  this  period, 
it  may  be  convenient  just  to  mention  that  these 
changes  were  followed  in  1869,  when  the  services 
of  civilians  employed  in  any  capacity  in  the  Coast- 
guard were  altogether  dispensed  with,  and  since 
then  the  general  basis  of  the  Coastguard  develop- 
ment has  been  for  the  better  defence  of  our  coasts, 

305  u 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

so  as  to  be  vigilant  against  any  disembarkation  by 
a  foreign  power,  at  the  same  time  providing  to 
a  certain  extent  for  the  manning  of  the  ships  of 
the  Royal  Navy  when  required.  Thus,  the  old 
organisation,  with  which  the  Customs  Board  was 
so  closely  and  for  so  long  a  time  connected, 
changed  its  character  when  its  sphere  became 
national  rather  than  particular.  Its  duty  hence- 
forth was  primarily  for  the  protection  of  the 
country  than  for  the  prevention  of  smuggling. 
But  between  1822 — when  the  Admiralty  yielded 
up  their  responsibilities  to  the  Customs  Board — and 
the  year  1856,  when  again  the  control  was  returned 
to  the  Admiralty,  no  material  alterations  were 
made  in  the  methods  of  preventing  smuggling,  the 
most  important  event  during  that  period — apart 
altogether  from  the  actual  smuggling  incidents — 
was  the  change  which  had  been  brought  about 
in  1831. 

During  the  different  reigns  and  centuries  in 
which  the  smuggling  evil  had  been  at  work,  all 
sorts  of  anti-smuggling  acts  had  been  passed. 
We  can  well  understand  that  a  certain  amount  of 
hasty,  panic-driven  legislation  had  from  time  to 
time  been  created  according  to  the  sudden  increase 
of  contraband  running.  But  all  these  laws  had 
become  so  numerous,  and  their  accumulation  had 
made  matters  so  intricate,  that  the  time  had  come 
for  some  process  of  unravelling,  straightening 
out,    and   summarising.      The    systematising    and 

306 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

clarification  were  affected  by  the  Act  of  January  5, 
1826  (6  Geo.  IV.  cap.  108).  And  one  of  the  most 
important  features  of  this  was  to  the  effect  that 
any  vessel  belonging  wholly  or  in  part  to  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  found  within  four  leagues  of 
the  coast  of  the  United  Kingdom,  with  prohibited 
goods  on  board,  and  not  proceeding  on  her  voyage, 
was  to  be  forfeited.  Any  vessel  or  boat,  not 
square-rigged,  belonging  wholly  or  in  part  to  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  and  found  in  the  British  (as  it 
was  then  frequently  designated)  Channel  or  Irish 
Channel,  or  elsewhere  within  100  leagues  of  the 
coast,  with  spirits  or  tobacco  in  casks  or  packages 
of  less  size  than  40  gallons  ;  or  tea,  tobacco,  or  snuff, 
in  any  package  containing  less  than  450  lbs.  in 
weight — this  craft  was  to  be  forfeited.  And 
vessels  (not  square-rigged),  if  found  unlicensed, 
were  also  to  be  forfeited.  But  whale-boats, 
fishing-boats,  pilot's  boats,  purely  inland  boats, 
and  boats  belonging  to  square-rigged  ships  were 
exempt. 

But,  of  course,  smuggling  was  still  very  far 
from  being  dead,  and  the  Revenue  cruisers  had 
always  to  be  on  the  alert.  Some  idea  of  the 
sphere  of  activity  belonging  to  these  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  list  of  cruiser  stations 
existing  in  the  early  'twenties.  The  English 
cruiser  stations  consisted  of:  Deptford,  Chatham, 
Sheerness,  Portsmouth,  Cowes,  Weymouth,  Ex- 
mouth,  Plymouth,   Fowey,  Falmouth,  Penzance, 

307 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

IMilford,  Berwick,  Grimsby,  Boston,  North  Yar- 
mouth, Harwich,  Gravesend,  Dover,  Poole,  Brix- 
ham,  Ilfracombe,  Douglas  (Isle  of  Man),  Alderney, 
Dover,  Seaford,  Dartmouth,  Holyhead,  Southend 
(in  the  port  of  Leigh).  In  Scotland  there  were : 
Leith,  ^lontrose,  Stranraer,  Stornoway,  Aber- 
deen, Cromarty,  Campbeltown,  Greenock.  In 
Ireland  there  were :  Kingstown,  Larne,  Killibegs, 
Westport,  Galway,  Cork,  and  Dunmore  East. 

It  was  to  such  places  as  the  above  that  the 
cruisers  repaired  for  their  provisions.  When 
smugglers  had  been  captured  and  taken  on  board 
these  cruisers  they  were  allowed  not  to  fare  as 
well  as  the  crew,  but  to  have  only  two-thirds  of 
the  victuals  permitted  to  the  mariners.  In  1825 
additional  instructions  were  issued  relating  to  the 
victualling  of  his  Majesty's  Revenue  Cruisers, 
and  in  future  every  man  per  diem  was  to  have  : — 

One  pound  of  biscuit,  ^  of  a  pint  of  rum 
(wine  measure),  until  the  establishment  of  the 
imperial  measure,  when  ^  of  a  pint  was  to  be 
allowed,  the  imperial  gallon  being  one-fifth  greater 
than  the  wine  gallon.  Each  man  was  also  to 
have  1  lb.  beef,  J  lb,  flour,  or  in  lieu  thereof 
J  pint  of  oatmeal,  J  lb.  suet,  or  Ij  oz.  of  sugar 
or  J  oz.  of  tea,  also  1  lb.  of  cabbage  or  2  oz.  of 
Scotch  barley.  They  were  to  be  provided  wdth 
pure  West  India  rum,  of  at  least  twelve  months 
old.     Further  regulations  were  also  taken  as  to 

the  nature  of  the  men's  grog.      "As  it  is   con- 

308 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

sidered  extremely  prejudicial  to  the  health  of  * 
the  crew  to  suffer  the  allowance  of  spirits  to  be 
drank  raw,  the  Commanders  are  to  cause  the 
same  to  be  served  out  to  them  mixed  with  water, 
in  the  proportion  of  three  parts  water  and  one 
part  spirits,  to  be  so  mixed  and  served  out  in 
presence  of  one  of  the  mates,  the  boatswain, 
gunner,  or  carpenter,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
mariners." 

Smugglers  detained  on  board  were  not  to  have 
spirits.  Before  proceeding  to  sea  each  cruiser 
was  to  have  on  board  not  less  than  two  months' 
supply  of  salt  beef,  spirits ;  suet  or  sugar  and  tea 
in  lieu,  as  well  as  Scotch  barley.  With  reference 
to  the  other  articles  of  food,  they  were  to  carry 
as  large  a  proportion  as  could  be  stowed  away, 
with  the  exception  of  fresh  beef  and  cabbages. 
But  two  years  prior  to  this,  that  is  to  say  on 
April  5,  1823,  the  Board  of  Customs  had  reduced 
the  victualling  allowances,  so  that  Commander  and 
mates  and  superintendents  of  Quarantine  received 
2s.  6d.  a  day  each ;  mariners  Is.  3d, ;  and  mariners 
of  lazarettes  (hospitals  Is.  for  quarantine)  Is.  3d. 
a  day. 

As  to  the   methods   of  the  smugglers,  these 

continued  to   become  more  and  more  ingenious, 

though   there  was   a   good  deal   of  repetition  of 

successful  tricks   until  the  Revenue  officers  had 

learnt  these  secrets,  when  some  other  device  had 

to  be  thought  out  and  employed.     Take  the  case 

309 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  a  craft  called  the  Jf^ig  Box,  belonging  to 
John  Punnett.  She  was  seized  at  Folkestone  in 
the  spring  of  1822  by  a  midshipman  of  the 
Coast  Blockade.  There  were  found  on  her  six 
gallons  of  spirits,  which  were  concealed  in  the 
following  most  ingenious  manner.  She  was 
quite  a  small  vessel,  but  her  three  oars,  her  two 
masts,  her  bowsprit,  and  her  bumpkin,  had  all 
been  made  hollow.  Inside  these  hollows  tin 
tubes  had  been  fitted  to  contain  the  above 
spirits,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  a 
good  many  other  small  craft  had  successfully 
employed  these  means  until  the  day  when  the 
Wig  Box  had  the  misfortune  to  be  found  out. 
There  is  still  preserved  in  the  London  Custom 
House  a  hollow  wooden  fend-ofF  which  was  slung 
when  a  ship  was  alongside  a  quay.  No  one 
for  a  long  time  ever  thought  of  suspecting  that 
this  innocent-looking  article  could  be  full  of 
tobacco,  lying  as  it  was  under  the  very  eyes  of 
the  Customs  officers  of  the  port.  And  in  1820 
three  other  boats  were  seized  in  one  port  alone, 
having  concealed  prohibited  goods  in  a  square 
foremast  and  outrigger,  each  spar  being  hollowed 
out  from  head  to  foot  and  the  ends  afterwards 
neatly  plugged  and  painted.  Another  boat  was 
seized  and  brought  into  Dover  with  hollow  yards 
to  her  lugsails,  and  a  hollow  keel  composed  of  tin 
but  painted  to  look  like  wood,  capable  of  holding 
large  quantities  of  spirits. 

310 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

But  there  was  a  very  notorious  vessel  named 

the  Asp,  belonging  to   Rye,  her  master's   name 

being    John    Clark,    her    size    being    just    under 

24  tons.     In  1822  she  was  seized  and  found  to 

have  a  false  bow,  access  to  which  was  by  means 

of  two   scuttles,  one   on  each  side  of  the  stem. 

These  scuttles  were  fitted  with  bed-screws  fixed 

through  false  timbers  into  the  real  timbers,  and 

covered  with  pieces  of  cork  resembling  treenails. 

The    concealment    afforded    space    for    no   fewer 

than  fifty  flat  tubs  besides  dry  goods.      Rut  in 

1824  another  vessel  of  the  same  name  and  port, 

described  as  a  smack,  was  also  arrested  at  Rye, 

and  found  to  have  both  tobacco  and  silk  goods 

concealed.      This    was    effected    by    means    of   a 

false  bottom  to  the  ship,  which  extended  as  far 

aft   as   the   ballast    bulkhead.      The   entrance   to 

the  concealment  was   by  means   of  a   couple  of 

scuttles  on  each  side  of  her  false  keelson,  these 

scuttles   being  screwed  down  in   such   a  manner 

as  also  to  be  imperceptible.     Also  on  either  side 

of    her    cabin    there    were    other     hiding-places 

underneath   the   bertlis,  and    so  constructed   that 

they   deceived     more    than   one   Revenue   officer 

who  came  aboard  to  rummage  her.     The  latter 

had  bored  holes  through  the  lining,  so  as  to  try 

the  distance   of  that   lining   from  the   supposed 

side  of  the  vessel.     Finding  this  distance  not  to 

exceed  the  fair  allowance  for  the  vessel's  scuttling, 

the  officers  had  gone  ashore  quite  satisfied.     From 

311 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

the  number  of  gimlet-holes  in  the  lining  it  was 
clear  that  the  officers  had  been  imposed  upon 
considerably.  But  what  these  officers  had  taken 
for  the  side  of  the  ship  was  only  an  intermediary 
planking,  the  actual  concealment  being  between 
that  and  the  vessel's  side. 

To  get  to  the  entrance  of  these  concealments, 
the  bedding  had  to  be  taken  out,  which  they  had 
no  doubt  omitted  to  do.  But  if  they  had  done 
this  they  would  have  been  able  properly  to  get 
to  the  lining,  when  two  small  pieces  of  wood 
about  an  inch  square  let  into  the  plank  made 
themselves  apparent.  And  these,  if  removed  with 
the  point  of  a  knife  or  chisel,  brought  small  pieces 
of  cork  (circular  in  shape)  to  become  visible.  As 
soon  as  these  corks  were  removed,  the  heads  of 
bed-screws  were  observable,  and  these  being  un- 
screwed allowed  two  boards  running  the  whole 
lengths  of  the  berths  to  be  taken  up,  by  which 
means  were  revealed  the  concealments  capable 
of  containing  a  considerable  quantity  of  dry 
goods. 

Somewhat  reminiscent   of  this   ship  was   the 

French  vessel,  St.  Antoine,  which  was  seized  at 

Shoreham.     She  had  come  from  Dieppe,  and  her 

master  was  named  A.  Fache.     The  after  part  of 

her  cabin  was  fitted  with  two  cupboards  which 

had  shelves  that  took  down,  the  back  of  which  was 

supposed  to  be  the  lining  of  the  transom.     But 

on  taking  the  same  up,  timbers  showed  themselves. 

312 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

On  examining  the  planks  closely,  it  was  noticed 

that  they  overlapped  each  other,  the  timbers  being 

made  to  act  as  fastenings.     On  striking  the  lower 

end  of  the  false  timbers  on  one  side,   it  moved 

round  on  a  bolt,  and  one  plank  with  a  timber  was 

made  to  shift  on  each  side  of  the  false  stern-post, 

forming  a  stern-frame  with  the  other.     Below  the 

cupboards  down  to  the  run  of  the  vessel  the  same 

principle  was  followed.     The  entrance  to  this  was 

by  taking  down  the  seats  and  lockers  in  the  cabin, 

and  a  false  stern-post  appeared  to  be  fastened  with 

a  forelock  and  ring,  but  by  unfastening  the  same, 

the  false  stern-post  and   middle   plank  could  be 

taken  down. 

Two    ingenious    instances   of   the   sinking   of 

contraband  goods  were  found  out  about  the  year 

1823,  and   both    occurred   within   that   notorious 

south-east  corner  of  England.     The  first  of  these 

belongs  to  Sandwich,  where  three  half-ankers  of 

foreign  spirits  were  seized  floating,  being  hidden 

in  a  sack,  a  bag  of  shingle  weighing  30  lbs.  being 

used  to  act  as  a  sinker.     Attached   to   the    sack 

were  an  inflated  bladder  and  about  three  fathoms 

of  twine,  together  with  a  small  bunch  of  feathers 

to  act  as  a  buoy  to  mark  the  spot.     When  this 

arrangement    was    put    into    use    it    was     found 

that  the  bladder  kept  the  sack  floating  one  foot 

below  the  surface  of  the  water.     The  feathers  were 

to  mark  the  spot  where  the  sack,  on  being  thrown 

overboard,  might  bring  up  in  case  any  accident  had 

313 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

occurred  to  the  bladder.  At  spring  tides  the  rush 
of  the  water  over  the  Sandwich  flats  causes  a  good 
deal  of  froth  which  floats  on  the  surface.  The 
reader  must  often  have  observed  such  an  instance 
on  many  occasions  by  the  sea.  The  exact  colour 
is  a  kind  of  dirty  yellow,  and  this  colour  being 


The  Sandwich  Device. 

In  the  sack  were  three  half-ankers,     A  bag  of  shingle  acted  as  sinker,  and 
the  bladder  kept  the  sack  floating. 

practically  identical  with  that  of  the  bladder,  it 
would  be  next  to  impossible  to  tell  the  difference 
between  froth  and  bladder  at  any  distance,  and 
certainly  no  officer  of  the  Revenue  would  look  for 
such  things  unless  he  had  definite  knowledge 
beforehand. 

The  second  occurrence  took  place  at  Rye.     A 

seizure  was  made  of  twelve  tubs  of  spirits  which 

314 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

had  been  sunk  by  affixing  to  the  head  of  each  a 
circular  piece  of  sheet  lead  which  just  fitted  into 
the  brim  of  the  cask,  and  was  there  kept  in  its 
place  by  four  nails.  The  weight  of  the  lead  was 
9  lbs.,  and  the  tubs,  being  lashed  longitudinally 
together,  rolled  in  a  tideway  unfettered,  being 
anchored  by  the  usual  lines  and  heavy  stones.  The 
leads  sank  the  casks  to  the  bottom  in  2j  fathoms 
of  water,  but  at  that  depth  they  in  specific  gravity 
so  nearly  approximated  to  their  equal  bulk  of  fluid 
displaced  that  they  could  scarcely  be  felt  on  the 
finger.  The  leads  were  cast  in  moulds  to  the  size 
required,  and  could  be  repeatedly  used  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  smuggling 
vessels,  after  coming  across  the  Channel  and  de- 
positing their  cargoes,  would  on  a  later  voyage  be 
given  back  these  pieces  of  lead  to  be  affixed  to 
other  casks. 

A  clinker-built  boat  of  about  26  tons  burthen 
named  the  St.  Francois,  the  master  of  which 
was  named  Jean  Baptiste  La  Motte,  of  and  from 
Gravelines,  crossed  the  North  Sea  and  passed 
through  the  Forth  and  Clyde  Canal  in  the  year 
1823  to  Glasgow.  Nominally  she  had  a  cargo  of 
apples  and  walnuts,  her  crew  consisting  of  six  men 
besides  the  master.  She  was  able  to  land  part  of 
her  cargo  of  "  apples  "  at  Whitby  and  the  rest  at 
Glasgow,  and  afterwards,  repassing  safely  through 
the  canal  again,  returned  to  Gravelines.     But  some 

time  after  her  departure  from  Scotland  it  was  dis- 

315 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

covered  that  she  had  brought  no  fruit  at  all,  but  that 
what  appeared  to  be  apples  were  so  many  portions 
of  lace  made  up  into  small  boxes  of  the  size  of 
apples  and  ingeniously  painted  to  resemble  that 
fruit. 

As  showing  that,  even  as  late  as  the  year  1824, 
the  last  of  the  armed  cutters  had  not  been  yet  seen, 
we  may  call  attention  to  the  information  which 
was  sent  to  the  London  Custom  House  through 
the  Dublin  Customs.  The  news  was  to  the  effect 
that  in  February  of  that  year  there  was  in  the 
harbour  of  Flushing,  getting  ready  for  sea,  whither 
she  would  proceed  in  three  or  four  days,  a  cutter 
laden  with  tobacco,  brandy,  Hollands,  and  tea. 
She  was  called  the  Zellow,  which  was  a  ficti- 
tious name,  and  was  a  vessel  of  160  tons  with  a  crew 
of  forty  men,  copper-bottomed  and  pierced  for 
fourteen  guns.  She  was  painted  black,  with  white 
mouldings  round  the  stern.  Her  boom  also  was 
black,  so  were  her  gaff  and  masthead.  The  officers 
were  warned  to  keep  a  look-out  for  her,  and  in- 
formed that  she  had  a  large  strengthening  fish  on 
the  upper  side  of  the  boom,  twenty  cloths  in  the 
head,  and  twenty-eight  in  the  foot  of  the  mainsail. 
It  was  reported  that  she  was  bound  for  Bally- 
herbert,  Mountain  Foot,  and  Clogher  Head  in 
Ireland,  but  if  prevented  from  landing  there  she 
was  consigned  to  Ormsby  of  Sligo  and  Burke  of 
Connemara.     In  the  event  of  her  failing  there  also 

she  had  on  board  two  "  spotsmen "  or  pilots  for 

316 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

the  coast  of  Kerry  and  Cork.  There  was  also  a 
lugger  at  the  same  time  about  to  proceed  from 
Flushing  to  Wexford.  This  vessel  was  of  from 
90  to  100  tons,  was  painted  black,  with  two  white 
mouldings  and  a  white  counter.  She  carried  on 
her  deck  a  large  boat  which  was  painted  white 
also. 

Tobacco  was  discovered  concealed  in  rather 
a  curious  manner  on  another  vessel.  She  had 
come  from  St.  John,  New  Brunswick,  with  a  cargo 
of  timber,  and  the  planks  had  been  hollowed  out 
and  filled  with  tobacco,  but  it  was  so  cleverly- 
done  that  it  was  a  long  time  before  it  was  de- 
tected. All  sorts  of  vessels  and  of  many  rigs 
were  fitted  with  places  of  concealment,  and  there 
was  even  a  50-ton  cutter  named  the  Alborough, 
belonging  to  London,  employed  in  this  business, 
which  had  formerly  been  a  private  yacht,  but 
was  now  more  profitably  engaged  running  goods 
from  Nieuport  in  Belgium  to  Hull.  The  de- 
scriptions of  some  of  these  craft  sent  to  the 
various  outports,  so  that  a  smart  look-out  for 
them  might  be  kept  up,  are  certainly  valuable  to 
us,  as  they  preserve  a  record  of  a  type  of  craft 
that  has  altered  so  much  during  the  past  century 
as  almost  to  be  forgotten.  The  description  of 
the  sloop  Jane,  for  instance,  belonging  to  Dum- 
barton in  1824,  is  worth  noting  by  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  ships  of  yesterday.  Sloop- 
rigged,  and  carvel  built,  she  had  white  mouldings 

317 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

over  a  yellow  streak,  and  her  bulwark  was  painted 
green  inside.  Her  cross-jack  yards,^  as  they  are 
called,  her  bowsprit-boom,  her  gaff  and  studding- 
sail  boom  were  all  painted  white,  and  she  had 
three  black  hoops  on  the  mast  under  the  hounds. 
Her  sails  were  all  white,  but  her  square  topsail 
and  topgallant-yards  were  black.  The  Jane  was 
a  90-tonner. 

The  reader  will  remember  considering  some 
time  back  an  open  boat  which  was  fitted  with 
hollow  stanchions  under  the  thwarts,  so  that 
through  these  stanchions  ropes  might  pass  through 
into  the  water  below.  I  have  come  across  a 
record  of  a  smack  registered  in  the  port  of 
London  under  the  singularly  inappropriate  name 
of  the  Good  Intent.  She  was  obviously  built  or 
altered  with  the  sole  intention  of  being  employed 
in  smuggling.  I  need  say  nothing  of  her  other 
concealments  under  the  cabin  berths  and  so  on, 
as  they  were  practically  similar  to  those  on  the 
Asp.  But  it  was  rather  exceptional  to  find  on 
so  big  a  craft  as  the  Good  Intent  a  false  stanchion 
immediately  abaft  the  fore  scuttle.  Through  this 
stanchion  ran  a  leaden  pipe  about  two  inches  in 

^  The  cro'jack  yard  was  really  the  lower  yard  of  a  full-rigged 
ship  on  the  mizzen-mast,  to  the  arras  of  which  the  clews  or  lower 
corners  of  the  mizzen-topsail  were  extended.  But  as  sloops  were 
fore-and-aft  craft  it  is  a  little  doubtful  what  is  here  meant.  Either 
it  may  refer  to  the  barren  yard  below  the  square  topsail  carried  by 
the  sloops  of  those  days — the  clews  actually  were  extended  to  this 
yard's  armS' — or  the  word  may  have  been  the  equivalent  of  what  we 
nowadays  call  cross-trees. 

318 


ADMINISTRATIVE   REFORMS 

diameter,  and  this  went  through  the  keelson  and 
garboard  strake,  so  that  by  this  means  a  rope 
could  be  led  through  and  into  the  vessel,  while 
at  the  other  end  a  raft  of  tubs  could  be  towed 
through  the  water.  By  hauling  tightly  on  to 
this  line  the  kegs  could  be  kept  beautifully  con- 
cealed under  the  bilge  of  the  vessel,  so  that  even 
in  very  clear  water  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
suspect  the  presence  of  these  tubs.  The  other 
end  of  this  pipe  came  up  through  the  ship  until 
it  was  flush  with  the  deck,  and  where  this  joined 
the  latter  a  square  piece  of  lead  was  tarred  and 
pitched  so  as  scarcely  to  be  perceived. 

There  must  indeed  have  been  a  tremendous 
amount  of  thought,  as  well  as  the  expenditure 
of  a  great  deal  of  time  and  money,  in  creating 
these  methods  of  concealment,  but  since  they 
dared  not  now  to  use  force  it  was  all  they 
could  do. 


319 


CHAPTER   XVII 

SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

Second  cousin  to  the  method  of  filling  oars  and 

spars  with  spirits  was  that  adopted  by  a  number 

of  people  whose  homes  and  lives  were  connected 

with  the  sea-shore.     They  would  have  a  number 

of  shrimping    nets   on    board,  the   usual   wooden 

handles  being   fitted   at   one   end   of  these   nets. 

But    these    handles    had    been    purposely    made 

hollow,  so   that  round  tin  cases   could  be  fitted 

in.     The   spirits   then   filled   these   long   cavities, 

and  whether  they  caught   many  shrimps  or  not 

was  of  little  account,   for  dozens   of  men    could 

wade  ashore  with  these  nets  and  handles  on  their 

backs  and  proceed  to  their  homes  without  raising 

a  particle  of  suspicion.     It  was  well  worth  doing, 

for  it  was  calculated  that  as  much  as  2^  gallons 

of    spirit    could    be    poured   into   each   of  these 

hollow  poles. 

Collier-brigs  were  very  fond  of  smuggling,  and 

among   others   mention   might   be    made   of  the 

Venus   of  Rye,  an  80-ton    brig    which   between 

January   and   September  one   year  worked  three 

highly  profitable  voyages,  for  besides  her  ordinary 

cargo  she  carried  each  time  800  casks  of  spirits, 

320 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

these  being  placed  underneath  the  coals.  There 
was  also  the  brig  Severn  of  Bristol,  which  could 
carry  about  five  keels  of  coal,  but  seldom  carried 
more  than  four,  the  rest  of  the  space  of  course 
being  made  up  with  contraband.  In  1824  she 
worked  five  voyages,  and  on  each  occasion  she 
carried,  besides  her  legitimate  cargo,  as  much  as 
eight  tons  of  tobacco  under  her  coals.  And  there 
was  a  Danish-built  sloop  named  the  Blue-eyed 
Lass  belonging  to  Shields,  with  a  burthen  of  60 
odd  tons,  also  employed  in  the  coal  trade.  She 
was  a  very  suspicious  vessel,  and  was  bought 
subsequently  by  the  people  of  Rye  to  carry  on 
similar  work  to  the  other  smuggling  craft.  All 
sorts  of  warnings  were  sent  to  the  Customs  Board 
giving  them  information  that  The  Rose  in  June 
(needless  to  say  of  Rye)  was  about  to  have  ad- 
ditional concealments  added.  She  was  of  37 
tons  burthen,  and  had  previously  been  employed 
as  a  packet  boat.  They  were  also  warned  that 
George  Harrington,  a  noted  smuggler  resident  at 
Eastbourne,  intended  during  the  winter  months 
to  carry  on  the  contraband  trade,  and  to  land 
somewhere  between  Southampton  and  Weymouth. 
He  had  made  arrangements  with  a  large  number 
of  men  belonging  to  Poole  and  the  neighbouring 
country,  and  had  obtained  a  suitable  French 
lugger. 

In  1826  the  smacks  Fox  and  Lovely  Lass  of 

Portsmouth  were  seized   at  that  port  with  kegs 

321  X 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  spirits  secreted  under  their  bottoms  in  a  thin 
contemporary  casing,  as  shown  in  the  accompany- 
ing diagram.  The  ingenious  part  of  this  trick  was 
that  there  was  no  means  of  communication  into 
the  conceahnent  from  the  interior  of  the  vessel. 
Thus  any  officer  coming  aboard  to  search  would 
have  little  or  no  reason  to  suspect  her.  But  it 
was  necessary  every  time  this  vessel  returned  from 
abroad  with  her  contraband  for  her  to  be  laid 
ashore,  and  at  low  water  the  kegs  could  be  got  at 
externally.  To  begin  with  there  were  pieces  of 
plank  two  inches  thick  fastened  to  the  timbers  by 
large  nails.  Then,  between  the  planks  and  the 
vessel's  bottom  the  tubs  were  concealed.  The 
arrangement  was  exceeding  simple  yet  wonderfully 
clever.  Practically  this  method  consisted  of  filling 
up  the  hollow  below  the  turn  of  the  bilge.  It 
would  certainly  not  improve  the  vessel's  speed,  but 
it  would  give  her  an  efficacious  means  of  stowing 
her  cargo  of  spirits  out  of  the  way.  And  it  was 
because  of  such  incidents  as  this  last  mentioned 
that  orders  were  sent  to  all  ports  for  the  local  craft 
and  others  to  be  examined  frequently  ashore  no 
less  than  afloat,  in  order  that  any  false  bottom 
might  be  detected.  And  the  officers  were  to  be 
careful  and  see  that  the  name  of  the  ship  and  her 
master  painted  on  a  ship  corresponded  with  the 
names  in  her  papers.  Even  open  boats  were  found 
fitted  with  double  bottoms,  as  for  instance  the  Ma7^y, 

belonging  to  Dover.     She  was  only  14  feet  long 

322 


SMUGGLING    BY   CONCEALMENTS 

with  5  feet  9^  inches  beam,  but  she  had  both  a 
double  bottom  and  double  sides,  in  which  were 
contained  thirty  tin  cases  to  hold  29  gallons  of 
spirits.  Her  depth  from  gunwale  to  the  top  of 
her  ceiling  ^  originally  was  2  feet  8^  inches.  But  the 
depth  from  the  gunwale  to  the  false  bottom  was 
2  feet  5f  inches.  The  concealment  ran  from  the 
stem  to  the  transom,  the  entrance  being  made  by 
four  cuttles  very  ingeniously  and  neatly  fitted, 
with  four  nails  fore  and  aft  through  the  timbers  to 
secure  them  from  moving — one  on  each  side  of 
the  keelson,  about  a  foot  forward  of  the  keelson 
under  the  fore  thwart.  Even  Thames  barges  were 
fitted  with  concealments ;  in  fact  there  was  not  a 
species  of  craft  from  a  barque  to  a  dinghy  that  was 
not  thus  modified  for  smuggling. 

The  name  of  the  barge  was  the  ^//r^^Z  of  London, 
and  she  was  captured  ofFBirchington  one  December 
day  in  1828.  She  pretended  that  she  was  bound 
from  Arundel  with  a  cargo  of  wood  hoops,  but 
when  she  was  boarded  she  had  evidently  been 
across  to  "the  other  side";  for  there  was  found 
1045  tubs  of  gin  and  brandy  aboard  her  when  she 
was  captured,  together  with  her  crew,  by  a  boat 
sent  from  the  cruiser  Vigilant.  The  discovery  was 
made  by  finding  an  obstruction  about  three  feet 
deep  from  the  top  of  the  coamings,  which  induced 
the  Revenue  officer  to  clear  away  the  bundles  of 
hoops  under  the  fore  and  main  hatchways.     He 

^  The  ceiling  of  a  ship  signified  the  inside  planks. 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 


then  discovered  a  concealment  covered  over  with 
sand,  and  on  cutting  through  a  plank  two  inches 
thick  the  contraband  was  discovered. 

The  accompanying  diagram  shows  the  sloop 
Lucy  of  Fowey,  WiUiam  Strugnell  master.  On 
the  14th  of  December  1828  she  was  seized  at 
Chichester  after   having  come   from  Portsmouth 


.SLOOP    LUCY 


The  Sloop  Lucy  showing  Concealments. 

in  ballast.     She  was  found  to  be  fitted  with  the 

concealment   shown   in  the  plan,   and   altogether 

there  were  100  half- ankers  thus  stowed  away,  50 

being  placed  on  each  side   of  her  false   bottom. 

She  was  just  over  35  tons  burthen,  and  drew  four 

feet  of  water,  being  sloop  rigged,  as  many  of  the 

barges  in  those  days  were  without  the  little  mizzen 

which  is  so  familiar  to  our  eyes  to-day. 

Cases  of  eggs  sent  from  Jersey  were  fitted  with 

false  sides  in  which  silks  were  smuggled  ;  trawlers 

324    • 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

engaged  in  sinking  tubs  of  spirits  ;  a  dog-kennel 
was  washed  ashore  from  a  vessel  that  foundered  off 
Dungeness,  and  on  being  examined  this  kennel  was 
found  to  be  fitted  with  a  ffilse  top  to  hold  30  lbs. 
of  tobacco  ;  an  Irish  smack  belonging  to  Cork  was 
specially  fitted  for  the  contraband  trade,  having 
previously  actually  been  employed  as  a  Coastguard 
watch-boat.  There  was  a  vessel  named  Grace 
manned  by  three  brothers — all  notorious  smugglers 
— belonging  to  Coverack  (Cornwall).  This  vessel 
used  to  put  to  sea  by  appointment  to  meet  a  French 
vessel,  and  having  from  her  shipped  the  contraband 
the  Grace  would  presently  run  the  goods  ashore 
somewhere  between  Land's  End  and  Newport, 
South  Wales  ;  in  fact,  all  kinds  of  smuggling  still 
went  on  even  after  the  first  quarter  of  that  wonder- 
ful nineteenth  century. 

About  the  year  1831  five  casks  imported  from 
Jersey  was  alleged  to  contain  cider,  but  on  being 
examined  they  were  found  to  contain  something 
else  as  well.  The  accompanying  sketch  represents 
the  plan  of  one  of  these.  From  this  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  central  space  was  employed  for  holding 
the  cider,  but  the  ends  were  full  of  tobacco  being 
contained  in  two  tin  cases.  In  this  diagram  No.  1 
represents  the  bung,  No.  2  shows  the  aperture  on 
each  side  through  which  the  tobacco  was  thrust 
into  the  tin  cases  which  are  marked  by  No.  3,  the 
cider  being  contained  in  the  central  portion  marked 

4.     Thus  the  usual  method  of  gauging  a  cask's 

325 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

contents  was  rendered  useless,  for  unless  a  bent  or 
turned  rod  were  employed  it  was  impossible  to 
detect  the  presence  of  these  side  casks  for  the 
tobacco. 

One  may  feel  a  little  incredulous  at  some  of 
the  extraordinary  yarns  which  one  hears  occasion- 
ally from  living  people  concerning  the  doings  of 


1,  Duwcs. 

2.  Ope-NiNQS. 
Z>,  Tobacco. 
4^,    CVDER.. 

Cask  for  Smuggling  Cider. 


smugglers.     A  good  deal  has  doubtless  arisen  as 

the  result  of  a  too  vivid  imagination,  but,  as  we 

have  shown  from  innumerable  instances,  there  is 

quite  enough  that  is  actual  fact  without  having 

recourse  to  invention.     I  know  of  a  certain  port 

in  our  kingdom  where  there  existed  a  legend  to  the 

effect  that  in  olden  days  the  smugglers  had  no  need 

to  bring  the  tubs  in  with  them,  but  that  if  they 

only  left  them  outside  when  the  young  flood  was 

326 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

making,  those  tubs  would  find  their  own  way  in  to 
one  particular  secluded  spot  in  that  harbour.  A 
number  of  amateur  enthusiasts  debated  the  point 
quite  recently,  and  a  wager  was  made  that  such  a 
thing  was  not  possible.  But  on  choosing  a  winter's 
day,  and  throwing  a  number  of  barrels  into  the 
water  outside  the  entrance,  it  was  found  that 
the  trend  of  the  tide  was  always  to  bring  them 
into  that  corner.  But,  you  will  instantly  say, 
wouldn't  the  Coastguard  in  the  smuggling  days 
have  seen  the  barrels  as  they  came  along  the  top 
of  the  water  ? 

The  answer  is  certainly  in  the  affirmative.  But 
the  smugglers  used  to  do  in  the  "  scientific  "  period 
as  follows,  and  this  I  have  found  in  a  document 
dated  1833,  at  which  time  the  device  was  quite 
new,  at  least  to  the  Customs  officials.  Let  us 
suppose  that  the  vessel  had  made  a  safe  passage 
from  France,  Holland,  or  wherever  she  had  obtained 
the  tubs  of  spirits.  She  had  eluded  the  cruisers 
and  arrived  off  the  harbour  entrance  at  night 
just  as  the  flood  tide  was  making.  Overboard 
go  her  tubs,  and  away  she  herself  goes  to  get  out 
of  the  sphere  of  suspicion.  These  tubs  numbered 
say  sixty-three,  and  were  firmly  lashed  together 
in  a  shape  very  similar  to  a  pile  of  shot — pyramid 
fashion.  The  tops  of  the  tubs  were  all  painted 
white,  but  the  raft  was  green.  Below  this  pyramid 
of  tubs  were  attached  two  grapnel  anchors,  and 

the    whole    contrivance    could   float   in   anything 

327 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

above  seven  feet  of  water.  It  was  so  designed 
that  the  whole  of  the  tubs  came  in  on  the  tide 
below  water,  only  three  being  partially  visible, 
and  their  white  colour  made  them  difficult  to 
be  seen  among  the  little  waves.  But  as  soon 
as  they  came  to  the  spot  where  there  were  only 
seven  feet  of  water  the  two  grapnels  came  into 
action  and  held  the  tubs  moored  like  a  ship.  And 
as  the  tide  rose,  so  it  completely  obliterated  them. 
Some  one  was  of  course  on  the  look-out  for  his 
spirits,  and  when  the  tide  had  dropped  it  was 
easy  enough  to  wade  out  and  bring  the  tubs 
ashore,  or  else  "sweep"  them  ashore  with  a  long 
rope  that  dragged  along  the  bottom  of  the 
harbour. 

During  the  year  1834  smuggling  was  again 
on  the  increase,  especially  on  the  south  and  east 
coasts,  and  it  took  time  for  the  officers  to  learn 
all  these  new-fangled  tricks  which  were  so  fre- 
quently employed.  Scarcely  had  the  intricacies 
of  one  device  been  learnt  than  the  smugglers  had 
given  up  that  idea  and  taken  to  something  more 
ingenious  still.  Some  time  back  we  called  atten- 
tion to  the  way  in  which  the  Deal  boatmen  used 
to  walk  ashore  with  smuggled  tea.  About  the 
year  1834  a  popular  method  of  smuggling  tea, 
lace,  and  such  convenient  goods  was  to  wear  a 
waistcoat  or  stays  which  contained  eighteen  rows 
well  stuffisd  with  8  lbs.  weight  of  tea.     The  same 

man  would  also  wear  a  pair  of  drawers  made  of 

328 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 


stout  cotton  secured  with  strong  drawing  strings 
and  stuffed  with  about  16  lbs.  of  tea.  Two  men 
were  captured  with  nine  parcels  of  lace  secreted 
about  their  bodies,  a  favourite  place  being  to 
wind  it  round  the  shins.  Attempts  were  also 
made  to  smuggle  spun  or  roll  tobacco  from  New 
York  by  concealing  them  in  barrels  of  pitch, 
rosin,  bales  of  cotton,  and    so   on.     In  the   case 


The  Smack  Tarn  OShanter  showing  Method  of  Concealment 
(see  Text). 

of  a  ship  named  the  Josephine,  from  New  York, 
the  Revenue  officers  found  in  one  barrel  of  pitch 
an  inner  package  containing  about  100  lbs.  of 
manufactured  tobacco. 

The  accompanying  plan  of  the  smack  Tarn 
GShanter  (belonging  to  Plymouth),  which  was 
seized  by  the  Padstow  Coastguard,  will  show  how 
spirits  were  sometimes  concealed.  This  was  a 
vessel  of  72  tons  with  a  fore  bulkhead  and  a 
false  bulkhead  some  distance  aft  of  that.  This 
intervening  space,  as  will  be  seen,  was  filled  up 
with  barrels.     Her  hold  was  filled  with  a  cargo 

329 


KINGS   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  coals,  and  then  aft  of  this  came  the  cabin  with 
berths  on  either  side,  as  shown.  But  under  these 
berths  were  conceahnents  for  stowing  quite  a 
number  of  tubs,  as  ah-eady  explained. 

A  variation  of  the  plan,  previously  mentioned, 
for  smuggling  by  means  of  concealments  in  casks 
was  that  which  was  favoured  by  foreign  ships 
which  traded  between  the  Continent  and  the 
north-east  coasts  of  England  and  Scotland.  In 
this  case  the  casks  which  held  the  supplies  of 
drinking  water  were  fitted  with  false  sides  and 
false  ends.  The  inner  casks  thus  held  the  fresh 
water,  but  the  outer  casks  were  full  of  spirits. 
After  the  introduction  of  steam,  one  of  the  first 
if  not  the  very  first  instance  of  steamship  smug- 
gling by  concealment  was  that  occurring  in  1836, 
when  a  vessel  was  found  to  have  had  her  paddle- 
boxes  so  lined  that  they  could  carry  quite  a  large 
quantity  of  tobacco  and  other  goods. 

Another  of  those  instances  of  ships  fitted  up 
specially  for  smuggling  was  found  in  the  French 
smack  Auguste,  which  is  well  worth  considering. 
She  was,  when  arrested,  bound  from  Gravelines, 
and  could  carry  about  fifty  tubs  of  spirits  or, 
instead,  a  large  amount  of  silk  and  lace.  Under 
the  ladder  in  the  forepeak  there  was  a  potato 
locker  extending  from  side  to  side,  and  under 
this,  extending  above  a  foot  or  more  before  it, 
was  the  concealment.  Further  forward  were  some 
loose  planks  forming  a  hatch,  under  which  was 

330 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

the  coal-hole.  This  appeared  to  go  as  far  as 
the  bulkhead  behind  the  ladder,  and  had  the  con- 
cealment been  full,  it  could  never  have  been  found, 
but  in  walking  over  where  the  coals  were,  that 
part  of  the  concealment  which  extended  beyond 
the  locker  which  was  empty  sounded  hollow : 
whereupon  the  officers  pulled  up  one  of  the  planks 
and  discovered  the  hiding-place. 

It  was  decided  in  1837  that,  in  order  to  save 
the  expense  of  breaking  up  a  condemned  smug- 
gling vessel,  in  future  the  ballast,  mast,  pumps, 
bulkheads,  platforms,  and  cabins  should  be  taken 
out  from  the  vessel :  and  that  the  hull  should 
then  be  cut  into  pieces  not  exceeding  six  feet  long. 
Such  pieces  were  then  to  be  sawn  in  a  fore-and- 
aft  direction  so  as  to  cut  across  the  beams  and 
thwarts  and  render  the  hull  utterly  useless.  The 
accompanying  sketch  well  illustrates  the  ingenuity 
which  was  displayed  at  this  time  by  the  men 
who  were  bent  on  running  goods.  What  is  here 
represented  is  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  which  perhaps 
might  never  have  been  discovered  had  it  not  been 
driven  ashore  near  to  Selsey  Bill  during  the  gales 
of  the  early  part  of  1837.  The  manner  in  which 
this  craft  was  employed  was  to  tow  her  for  a  short 
distance  and  then  to  cast  her  adrift.  She  was 
fitted  with  rowlocks  for  four  oars,  but  apparently 
these  had  never  been  used.  Three  large  holes  were 
bored  in  her  bottom,  for  the  purpose  which  we 
shall  presently  explain. 

331 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Built  very  roughly,  with  half-inch  deal,  and 
covered  over  with  a  thin  coat  of  white  paint,  she 
had  a  grommet  at  both  bow  and  stern.  She 
measured  only  16  feet  long  and  4  feet  wide,  with  a 
depth  of  2  feet  2  inches.    It  will  be  noticed  that 


Flat-Bottomed  Boat  found  off  Selsey. 

The  sketch  shows  longitudinal  plan,  the  method  of  covering  with  net, 
and  midship  section. 

she  had  no  thwarts.  Her  timbers  were  of  bent 
ash  secured  with  common  French  nails,  and  along- 
side the  gunwales  were  holes  for  lacing  a  net  to  go 
over  the  top  of  this  boat.  Her  side  was  made  of 
three  deal  planks,  the  net  being  made  of  line,  and 
of  the  same  size  as  the  line  out  of  which  the  tub- 
slings  were  always  made.     The  holes  in  her  floor 

332 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

were  made  for  the  water  to  get  in  and  keep  her 
below  the  surface,  and  the  net,  spreading  from 
gunwale  to  gunwale,  prevented  her  cargo  of  tubs 
from  being  washed  out.  It  was  in  order  to  have 
ample  and  unfettered  room  for  the  tubs  that  no 
thwarts  were  placed.  She  would  be  towed  astern 
of  a  smack  or  lugger  under  the  water,  and  having 
arrived  at  the  appointed  spot  the  towrope  would 
be  let  go,  and  the  grapnels  attached  to  both 
grommets  at  bow  and  stern  would  cause  her  to 
bring  up  when  in  sufficiently  shallow  water. 
Later  on,  at  low  tide,  the  smugglers'  friends  could 
go  out  in  their  boats  with  a  weighted  line  or 
hawser  and  sweep  along  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and 
soon  locate  her  and  tow  her  right  in  to  the  beach. 

In  order  to  prevent  certain  obvious  excuses 
being  made  by  dishonest  persons,  all  British  sub- 
jects were  distinctly  forbidden  to  pick  up  spirits 
found  in  these  illegal  half-ankers,  only  officers  of 
the  Royal  Navy,  the  Customs,  and  the  Excise 
being  permitted  so  to  do.  But  it  was  not  always 
that  the  Revenue  cruisers  were  employed  in 
catching  smugglers.  We  have  pointed  out  that 
their  duties  also  included  Quarantine  work.  In 
the  spring  of  1837  it  was  represented  to  the 
Treasury  that  there  was  much  urgent  distress 
prevailing  in  certain  districts  of  the  Highlands  and 
Western  Islands  of  Scotland  owing  to  the  failure 
of  the  last  harvest.  Sir  John  Hill  was  therefore 
directed   to   proceed   to   Scotland   and  take  such 

333 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

steps  as  might  be  necessary  for  the  immediate 
supply  of  seed,  corn,  and  potatoes,  and  the 
officers  and  commanders  of  the  Revenue  cruisers 
were  directed  to  afford  him  every  assistance. 

In  the  previous  chapter  attention  was  called  to 
the  singular  inappropriateness  of  calling  a  smug- 
gling vessel  the  Good  Intent.  That  was  a  smack 
belonging  to  the  year  1824,  which  was  found  at 


Plan  of  the  Schooner  Good  Intent  showing  Method  of 
Smuggling  Casks. 

Rye.  But  this  name  seems  to  have  had  a  certain 
amount  of  popularity  among  these  ingenious 
gentlemen,  for  there  was  a  smugghng  schooner 
named  the  Good  Intent  which  was  seized  in  the 
year  1837.  How  cleverly  and  effectively  she  was 
fitted  up  for  a  smuggling  voyage  can  be  ascer- 
tained by  considering  the  accompanying  longi- 
tudinal plan.  She  had  a  burthen  of  72  tons,  and 
was  captured  by  the  Revenue  cruiser  Sylvia  in 
Mount's    Bay  on  the  14th  of  March.     The  plan 

334 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

denotes  her  principal  features,  including  her  sail- 
room  and  general  store  right  aft.  Immediately 
forward  of  this  was  the  first  concealment  on  the 
port  side  only.  Entrance  was  gained  by  means  of 
a  slide  which  was  nailed  up,  and  here  many  casks 
could  easily  be  stored.  Next  to  this  came  the 
after  bulkhead,  but  forward  of  this  was  also  a 
false  bulkhead,  the  distance  between  the  real  and 
the  false  being  2j  feet,  and  affording  a  space  to 
contain  138  kegs. 

Under  the  cabin  were  coals,  and  around  the 
coals  under  the  cabin  deck  were  placed  some 
kegs.  The  fore  bulkhead  had  also  a  false  bulk- 
head 2  feet  5  inches  apart,  and  this  space  held 
as  many  as  148  kegs.  Under  the  deck  of  the 
forepeak  were  also  21  kegs.  The  length  of  these 
kegs  was  17  inches,  and  they  were  nearly  a 
foot  in  diameter.  Each  cask  contained  4|  gallons 
of  French  brandy.  This  vessel  was  found  to 
have  merely  limestone  ballast  in  her  hold,  but 
her  illicit  cargo  was  more  valuable  to  her  than 
if  she  had  been  fully  laden  with  the  commodity 
which  she  usually  and  legitimately  traded  in. 
Later  in  the  same  year,  and  by  the  same  cruiser 
Sylvia,  this  time  off  Land's  End,  the  Jersey 
schooner  Spartan,  a  vessel  of  36|^  tons,  was  seized, 
as  she  was  found  to  be  fitted  up  with  similar 
concealments  (see  sketch). 

One  day  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century 

a    16-ton    Grimsby   fishing-smack    named    Lord 

i335 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Rivers  left  her  native  port  and  journeyed  south. 
Her  owner  and  master  was  in  a  dismal  frame  of 
mind,  and  complained  to  his  mate  that  things 
were  pretty  bad,  and  he  was  becoming  remarkably 
poor.  The  fishing  was  not  prospering  so  far  as 
he  was  concerned,  and  so  after  thinking  the 
matter  over  he  was  proposing  to  take  the  ship 
over  to   Boulogne   and   get  a  cargo  of  between 


The  Schooner  Spartan. 

1.  Hollow  beam. 

2.  Opening  for  entering  No.  3. 

3.  Place  of  concealment. 


thirty   and    forty   gallons   of    spirits.      His   mate 

heard  what  he  had  to  say  and  agreed  to  go  with 

him.     So  to  Boulogne  they  proceeded,  where  they 

purchased  the  spirits  from  a  dealer,  who  brought 

the   spirits   on   board,  not   in  casks  but  in  skins 

and  bladders,   making  about  fifty  in  all.     These 

were    deposited    in    the    smack's    hold,    and    she 

then    cleared    out   of   harbour    and  went    to   the 

fishing-grounds,  where,  to  make  matters  appear  all 

right,   she   remained   twenty -four   hours,   for  the 

336 


SMUGGLING   BY   CONCEALMENTS 

purpose  of  obtaining  some  oysters  by  dredging. 
Whilst  on  the  fishing-grounds  the  spirits  were 
stowed  in  a  neat  concealment  at  the  stern  of  the 
vessel  on  both  sides  abaft  the  hatchway.  Before 
long  the  smack  got  going  and  ran  into  Dover 
with   the    oysters    and    her    spirits,   lowered   her 


LORDBIYERS. 


Deck  Plan  aud  Longitudinal  Plan  of  the  Lord  Rivers 

(see  Text). 

sails,  and  made  everything  snug.  In  due  course 
the  bladders  of  spirits  were  got  out  of  the  hold 
in  small  numbers,  and  placed  in  baskets  and 
covered  over  with  a  sufficiently  thick  layer  of 
oysters  to  prevent  their  presence  being  detected. 
These  baskets  were  taken  to  a  neighbouring  tap- 
room, the  landlord  of  which  bought  as  much  as 
he  wanted,  and  a  local  poulterer  bought  the  rest 

of  the  spirits  and  oysters  as  well. 

337  Y 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

But  the  local  Coastguard  had  for  a  long  time 
been  suspicious  of  this  vessel,  and  evidently  this 
was  not  her  first  voyage  in  the  smuggling  trade. 
He  had  watched  and  followed  the  man  who  took 
the  bladders  ashore,  and  now  came  on  board  to 
see  what  he  could  find.  The  deck  plan  will 
clearly  convey  to  the  reader  the  way  in  which  the 
smack  was  fitted  up  with  concealments.  The 
letters  A  and  A  indicate  two  portions  of  the 
deck  planking,  each  portion  being  about  a  couple 
of  feet  long.  These  were  movable,  and  fitted 
into  their  places  with  a  piece  of  spun-yarn  laid 
into  the  seams,  and  over  this  was  laid  some  putty 
blackened  on  the  top.  At  first  sight  they  ap- 
peared to  be  part  of  the  solid  planking  of  the 
deck,  but  on  obtaining  a  chisel  they  were  easily 
removed.  There  was  now  revealed  the  entrance 
to  a  space  on  each  side  of  the  rudder- case  in 
the  false  stern  capable  of  containing  thirty  or 
forty  gallons  of  spirits.  This  in  itself  was  conclu- 
sive, but  when  the  Coastguard  also  found  that  the 
putty  in  the  seams  was  soft  and  fresh,  and  that 
a  strong  smell  of  spirits  emanated  from  this  cavity, 
it  was  deemed  that  there  was  more  than  adequate 
reason  for  arresting  the  smack  even  though  the 
hold  was  quite  empty. 

Thus  the  Loi^d  Rivers  came  to  a  bad  end. 


338 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

Having  now  seen  the  evolution  of  the  smug- 
gling  methods  from  brute  force  and  superiority 
of  ships  and  crews  to  the  point  where  the  land- 
ing of  dutiable  goods  became  a  fine  art,  and 
having  been  able  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the  mani- 
fold changes  which  occurred  in  the  administration 
of  the  Preventive  service  between  the  years 
1674<  and  1856,  we  may  now  resume  our  narrative 
of  the  interesting  encounters  which  occurred 
between  the  smugglers  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
Preventive  force  on  the  other.  Up  to  the  year 
1822  we  have  dealt  with  the  different  incidents 
which  used  to  go  on  around  our  coast,  and  we 
shall  now  be  in  a  position  to  appreciate  to  their 
full  the  notable  exploits  of  cruisers  and  smug- 
glers in  that  late  period  between  the  years  1822 
and  1856.  This  covers  the  epoch  when  improved 
architecture  in  regard  to  the  craft  employed, 
greater  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  cruisers,  and 
a  keener  artfulness  in  the  smugglers  themselves 
were  at  work.  Consequently  some  of  these 
contests  represent  the  best  incidents  in  the  whole 

history  of  smuggling. 

339 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

But  it  was  not  always  that  the  Revenue 
cruisers  and  Preventive  boats  were  in  the  right. 
There  were  occasions  when  the  commanders 
suffered  from  too  much  zeal,  though  certainly 
these  were  quite  exceptional.  There  is  the  case  of 
the  Drencher  which  well  illustrates  this.  She  was 
a  Dutch  vessel  which  had  been  on  her  voyage  to 
Italy,  and  was  now  returning  home  up  the  English 
Channel  with  a  cargo  of  oil,  bound  for  Amsterdam. 
Being  somewhat  square  and  ample  of  form,  with 
the  characteristic  bluff  bows  much  beloved  by 
her  countrymen,  and  being  also  very  foul  on  her 
bottom  through  long  voyaging,  she  was  only  a 
dull  sailer.^  And  such  being  the  case,  when  she 
fell  in  with  head  winds  her  skipper  and  part- 
owner,  Peter  Crook,  decided  to  let  go  anchor 
under  Dungeness,  where  many  a  sailing  craft 
then,  as  to-day,  has  taken  shelter  in  similar 
circumstances. 

Whilst  she  was  at  anchor  waiting  for  a  favour- 
able slant,  one  of  the  numerous  fishing  -  boats 
which  are  always  to  be  seen  hereabouts  came 
alongside  the  Drencher^  and  asked  the  skipper 
if  he  required  any  assistance.  Crook  replied  that 
if  the  wind  was  still  ahead,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  remain  there  till  the  next  day,  he  would  want 

^  How  slow  she  was  may  be  guessed  by  the  fact  that  she  took  seven 
hours  to  go  from  Dover  to  the  Downs  even  under  the  expert  handling 
of  MacTavish's  crew. 

*  She  was  officially  described  as  a  dogger. 

340 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

some  fuel  for  his  stove.  The  fisherman  sold  some 
of  his  catch  to  the  Dutchman,  and  then  went  on 
his  way. 

But  soon  after  this  a  boat  in  the  Preventive 
service,  commanded  by  a  Mr.  MacTavish,  a  mid- 
shipman, came  alongside  and  boarded  the  Drencher, 
The  midshipman  inquired  what  the  Dutchman 
had  had  to  do  with  the  fishing-boat,  and  Crook 
answered  that  he  had  done  nothing  except  to 
purchase  some  fish.  But  this  did  not  satisfy 
Mr.  MacTavish,  who  proceeded  now  to  examine 
what  was  on  board.  Of  course  he  found  some 
casks  of  spirits,  and  asked  Crook  how  they  came 
to  be  there,  to  which  Crook  answered  that  they 
had  been  found  floating  in  a  former  voyage  and 
he  had  picked  them  up.  This  looked  doubtful, 
but  it  was  quite  probable,  for  often  the  weights 
of  stones  from  sunken  tubs  broke  adrift  and  the 
tubs  floated  up  to  the  surface.  Especially  was 
this  the  case  after  bad  weather. 

We  can  well  understand  the  midshipman's 
suspicions,  and  need  not  be  surprised  to  learn 
that  he  felt  justified  in  seizing  the  ship  because 
of  these  tubs  found  on  board.  He  had  the  anchor 
broken  out,  the  sails  hoisted,  and  took  her  first 
into  Dover,  and  afterwards  from  Dover  to  Rams- 
gate,  where  most  of  her  cargo  was  unloaded.  But 
after  a  time  she  was  ordered  to  be  released  and 
allowed    to   proceed   to    Holland,    and  later   still 

her  skipper  brought  an  action  against  MacTavish 

341 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

for  liiiving  been  wrongfully  detained  for  thirty- 
days,  for  which  demurrage  he  claimed  four  guineas 
a  day,  besides  damage  to  her  cable  and  other 
things,  amounting  in  all  to  £208. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that  in  another  chapter 
we  saw  a  couple  of  sailing  craft  dodging  about 
suspiciously  in  West  Bay,  one  of  which  began 
to  fire  signals  to  the  other  in  order  to  warn  her 
of  the  Preventive  boat :  and  we  saw  that  the 
crew  of  three  men  in  the  offending  craft  were 
arrested  and  found  guilty.  One  of  these  men, 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  John  Bartlett,  who 
had  at  one  time  been  a  boy  on  a  Revenue  cutter. 
From  the  incident  which  led  to  his  arrest  in  1819 
let  us  pass  to  the  14th  of  September  1823.  The 
scene  is  again  AVest  Bay,  and  the  old  passion 
is  still  strong  in  Bartlett  notwithstanding  his 
sentence.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Bridport 
(Dorset)  is  Seatown,  and  just  beyond  that  comes 
Golden  Cape.  On  the  night  of  the  above  date 
one  of  the  Seatown  Revenue  officers  about  1  a.m. 
noticed  flashes  coming  from  the  cliff  between 
Seatown  and  Golden  Cape.  He  proceeded  to  the 
cliff,  which  at  high-water  runs  straight  up  out 
of  the  sea.  It  was  a  dark  night  with  no  moon, 
a  little  breeze,  and  only  slight  surf  on  the  shore — 
ideal  conditions  for  any  craft  bent  on  smuggling. 

On  the  cliff  the  officer,  named  Joseph  Davey, 

espied  a  man.     He  hailed  him,  thinking  it  was 

some  one  else,   and  asked  him  if  he  were  Joey 

342 


BY  SEA  AND  LAND 

Foss.  "Yes,"  came  back  the  answer,  but  when 
the  officer  seized  him  he  discovered  it  was  not 
Foss  but  the  notorious  John  Bartlett.  Up  came 
another  Revenue  man  named  Thomas  Nines  to 
assist  Davey,  but  in  a  few  minutes  Bartlett  gave 
a  loud  whistle,  whereupon  Nines  looked  out  sea- 
ward and  exclaimed,  "  There's  a  boat." 

"  I  sees  him,"  answered  Davey  as  the  craft  was 
approaching  the  shore.  By  this  time,  also,  there 
were  ten  or  twelve  men  coming  towards  the  officers, 
and  Bartlett  managed  to  run  down  to  the  shore, 
shouting  "Keep  off!"  "Keep  off!"  as  loudly  as 
he  could.  The  officers  ran  too,  but  the  boat 
turned  round  and  put  off  to  sea  again.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes  there  rose  up  a  large 
fire  on  the  cliff,  about  a  hundred  yards  from  where 
the  officers  were.  It  was  another  signal  of  warn- 
ing to  the  boat.  For  Bartlett,  having  got  away 
from  the  officers,  had  doubtless  lit  this,  since  it 
flared  up  near  to  where  he  was  seen  to  run.  The 
officers  remained  on  the  coast  until  daylight,  and 
then  launching  their  boat  rowed  a  little  way  from 
the  shore,  and  found  a  new  buoy  moored  just  by 
the  spot  where  the  lugger  had  been  observed  to 
turn  round  when  hailed  and  warned.  It  was 
clear,  on  examination,  that  the  buoy  had  not  been 
in  the  water  many  hours,  and  after  "  creeping " 
along  the  sea  bottom  hereabouts  they  brought 
up  sixty  kegs,  which  were  also  quite  new,  and  had 

evidently  only  been  sunk  when  Bartlett  sung  out 

343 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

his  warning.  The  latter  was  again  arrested,  and 
found  guilty  when  subsequently  tried.  So  again 
Bartlett  had  to  retire  from  smuggling. 

It  happened  only  a  few  weeks  before  this  inci- 
dent that  a  seaman  named  Willis  was  on  shore 
with  his  officer.  Willis  belonged  to  H.M.S.  Severn^ 
which  was  moored  off  Dover  for  the  prevention  of 
smuggling.  The  officer  was  a  naval  midshipman 
named  Hope,  stationed  ashore.  Whilst  on  their 
duty  they  began  to  notice  a  man,  whose  name  was 
William  Clarke,  near  Chalk  Fall,  carrying  a  basket 
of  nets  and  fishing  lines.  For  a  time  both  Willis 
and  Hope  took  shelter  under  the  Chalk  Cliff  as  it 
was  raining,  but  presently  Willis  separated  from 
his  officer  to  go  to  his  appointed  station.  It 
occurred  to  him  that  Clarke  appeared  to  be  un- 
necessarily stout,  and  he  was  sure  that  he  was  trying 
to  smuggle  something.  Willis  went  up  to  him 
and  said  he  intended  to  search  him,  to  which 
Clarke  replied,  "  Certainly."  He  admitted  he  had 
some  liquor  there,  but  he  hoped  Willis  would  take 
no  notice  of  it.  The  seaman  insisted  that  he  must 
take  notice,  for  if  it  turned  out  to  be  foreign  spirits 
he  must  seize  it :  whereupon  Clarke  flung  down  a 
couple  of  half-crowns  and  asked  him  to  say  nothing 
about  it. 

Willis  again  protested  that  he  must  see  what 

the  man  had  beneath  his  gabardine.     But  at  this 

Clarke  took  a  knife  from  his  pocket  and  cut  a  large 

bladder  which  he  had  under  his  clothes,  containing 

344 


BY    SEA   AND   LAND 

half  a  gallon  of  spirits,  and  a  spirituous  liquor 
poured  out  on  to  the  ground.  Willis  put  his 
finger  to  it  and  found  that  it  was  foreign  brandy. 
But  the  amusing  legal  aspect  of  this  incident  was 
that  this  foreign  liquor  could  not  be  seized,  nor 
could  the  man  be  prosecuted  for  having  it,  and  it 
could  not  be  condemned.  But  Clarke  had  indeed 
destroyed  that  which  he  had  so  early  brought 
safely  home.  This  was  just  one  instance  of  the 
good  work  which  the  Coast  Blockade  was  perform- 
ing, Willis  and  other  seamen  being  landed  every 
night  from  H.M.S.  Severn  to  act  as  guard  at 
different  points  along  the  coast. 

In  the  annals  of  smugglers  and  cruisers  there 
are  few  more  notable  incidents  than  that  which 
occurred  on  the  13th  of  January  1823,  in  the  Eng- 
lish Channel.  On  this  day  the  Revenue  cutter 
Badger  was  cruising  off  the  French  coast  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  Henry  Nazer,  R.N. 
He  was  an  officer  of  the  Excise,  but  the  cutter  at 
that  time  was  in  the  service  of  the  Customs,  her 
station  being  from  the  South  Foreland  to  Dunge- 
ness.  About  7.30  a.m.  the  officer  of  the  watch 
came  below  and  told  him  something,  whereupon 
Nazar  hurried  on  deck  and  observed  a  suspicious 
sail  on  the  starboard  tack,  the  wind  being  E.S.E. 
The  Badger  was  at  that  time  about  nine  or  ten 
miles  off  the  French  coast,  somewhere  abreast  of 
Etaples,  and  about  six  or  seven  leagues  from  the 

English  shore.     The  craft  which   was  seen  was, 

345 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

to  use  the  lieutenant's  own  language,  "a  cutter 
yawl-rigged,"  which  I  understand  to  signify  a 
cutter  with  a  small  lug-sail  mizzen,  as  was  often 
found  on  smugglers.  At  any  rate,  he  had  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  was  a  smuggling  craft, 
and  he  immediately  made  sail  after  her.  At  that 
hour  it  was  just  daybreak,  and  the  smuggler  was 
about  three  or  four  miles  off — to  the  eastward — 
and  to  windward,  but  was  evidently  running  with 
sheets  eased  oif  in  a  westerly  direction. 

But  when  the  smuggler  saw  the  Badger  was 
giving  chase  he  also  altered  his  course.  It  was  a 
fine,  clear,  frosty  morning,  and  the  Badger 
quickly  sent  up  his  gaff  topsail  and  began  to  over- 
haul the  other,  so  that  by  nine  o'clock  the  two 
vessels  were  only  a  mile  apart.  The  Badger 
now  hoisted  his  Revenue  pendant  at  the  masthead, 
consisting  of  a  red  field  with  a  regal  crown  at  the 
upper  part  next  the  mast,  and  he  also  hoisted  the 
Revenue  ensign  (that  is  to  say  "  a  red  Jack  with  a 
Union  Jack  in  a  canton  at  the  upper  corner  and  a 
regal  crown  in  the  centre  of  the  red  Jack  ")  at  his 
peak.  These  signals  instantly  denoted  that  the  ship 
was  a  Revenue  cruiser.  Lieutenant  Nazar  also 
ordered  an  unshotted  gun  to  be  fired  as  a  further 
signal  that  the  smuggler  was  to  heave -to,  but  the 
stranger  paid  no  attention  and  hoisted  no  colours. 
Ten  minutes  later,  as  it  was  perceived  that  his 
signals  were  disregarded,  the  Badger  s  com- 
mander ordered  a  shot  to  be  fired  at  her,  and  this 

346 


BY   SEA   AND  LAND 

was  immediately  returned  by  the  smuggler  with 
one  of  her  stern  guns.  From  this  time  a  running 
fire  was  kept  up  for  nearly  three  hours,  but  shortly 
before  midday,  whilst  the  cutter  was  still  chasing 
her  and  holding  on  the  same  course  as  the  other, 
the  Badgei'  came  on  at  such  a  pace  that  she  ran 
aboard  the  smuggler's  starboard  quarter  whilst 
both  ships  were  still  blazing  away  at  each  other. 

The  smuggler's  crew  then  cried  out  for  quarter 
in  English.  This  was  granted  by  the  Badger's 
commander,  who  had  a  boat  lowered,  but  whilst  in 
the  act  of  so  doing  the  treacherous  smuggling  craft 
recommenced  firing.  It  was  a  cowardly  thing  to 
do,  for  Reymas,  their  own  captain,  had  particularly 
asked  the  Badger  s  commander  to  forgive  them 
and  overlook  what  they  had  done,  whilst  other 
members  of  the  crew  cried  out  to  the  same  effect. 
This  had  caused  a  cessation  of  fire  for  about  five 
minutes,  and  was  only  reopened  by  the  smugglers' 
treachery.  One  of  the  Badgers  mariners  named 
William  Cullum,  was  in  consequence  shot  dead  by 
a  musket  aimed  at  him  by  one  of  the  smugglers. 
Cullum  was  standing  by  the  windlass  at  the  time, 
and  died  instantly. 

The  Badger,  therefore,  again  began  to  fire 
into  the  other  ship,  but  in  about  another  five 
minutes  the  smuggler  again  called  for  quarter,  and 
this  was  again  granted.  The  cruiser  sent  her  boat 
aboard  her,  and  brought  off  the  smuggler's  crew, 
amounting  to  twenty-three  men,  though  two  others 

347 


KING'S  CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

had  been  killed  in  the  affray.  The  Badger  s 
chief  mate,  on  boarding  the  smuggler,  sent  away 
the  latter's  crew  in  their  own  boat,  and  seven  of 
these  men  were  found  to  be  wounded,  of  whom 
one  died  the  following  morning.  The  name  of  the 
vessel    was    seen    to    be    the    Vree    Gebroeders. 


"The  Cruiser's  Guns  had  shot  away  the  Mizzen-Mast." 

She  was  of  119  tons  burthen,  and  had  the  previous 

day  started  out  from  Flushing  with  a  cargo  of  42 

gallons  of  brandy,  186  gallons  of  Geneva — these 

all  being  in  the  3|  gallon  half-ankers.     But  there 

was  also  a  good  deal  of  other  cargo,  consisting  of 

856  bales  of  tobacco  which  contained  51,000  lbs., 

thirteen  boxes  of  tea,  and  six  bags  of  sugar.     All 

these  goods  were  made  up  in  illegal-sized  packages 

348 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

and  she  had  nothing  on  board  except  what  was 
contraband.  The  chests  of  tea  were  found  all 
ready  slung  for  landing  with  small  ropes. 

The  Vree  Gebroeders  was  provisioned  for 
three  months,  and  was  armed  with  four  carronades, 
9-pounders,  and  two  swivel  muskets,  bayonets, 
and  other  arms  of  different  kinds.  Her  destination 
had  been  for  Ireland.  When  the  chief  mate  of  the 
Badger  boarded  her  he  found  that  the  cruiser's 
guns  had  shot  away  the  mizzen-mast,  but  the 
smuggler's  skipper  remarked  to  the  chief  mate 
that  the  spare  topmast  on  deck  would  serve  for  a 
mizzen  and  that  the  square-sail  boom  would  make 
an  outrigger,  and  that  the  trysail  would  be  found 
below,  but  so  far,  he  said,  this  sail  had  never  been 
bent.  Later  on  the  chief  mate  found  also  the 
deck-log  of  the  Vree  Gebroeders,  which  had 
been  kept  on  two  slates,  and  it  was  a  noticeable 
fact  that  these  were  kept  in  English.  They  read 
thus : — 


N.W.  by  N. 

Remarks,  Monday  13th. 

N.W.  by  W.      At  6.30  Ostend 

Light  bore  S.E.  distant 

12  miles. 

At  4  a.m.  Calais  Light 

bore  E.  by  S. 


So  when  the  Badger  first  sighted  this  craft 

the  latter  had  made  her  last  entry  in  the  log,  only 

349 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

three  and  a  half  hours  before.  It  was  significant 
that  English  charts  were  also  found  among  the 
ship's  papers,  though  her  manifest,  her  certificate, 
her  bill  of  lading,  and  other  certificates  were  all  in 
Dutch.  The  books  found  included  Hamilton 
INIoore's  N^avigation,  another  similar  work  by 
Norie,  the  Bi'itish  Channel  Pilot,  and  Naviga- 
tion of  the  North  Seas.  There  was  also  found  a 
Dutch  ensign  and  a  Dutch  Jack  on  board,  but 
there  was  even  an  English  Prayer-book. 

The  prisoners  remained  on  board  the  Badger 
until  next  day,  when  they  were  transferred  to 
H.M.S.  Severn.  The  Vree  Gehroeders  was  taken 
into  Dover,  and  was  valued,  together  with  her 
cargo,  at  the  handsome  sum  of  £11,000,  which 
would  have  been  a  fine  amount  of  prize  money  ; 
but  in  spite  of  the  clear  evidence  at  the  trial,  the 
jury  were  so  prejudiced  in  favour  of  the  smugglers 
that  they  found  the  prisoners  not  guilty,  their 
contention  being  that  the  ship  and  cargo  were 
wholly  foreign,  and  that  more  than  half  of  the  crew 
were  foreigners. 

It   had   been   an   unfortunate   affair.     Besides 

the  death  of  Cullum  and  the  two  smugglers  killed 

and    the    seven   smugglers   wounded.   Lieutenant 

Nazer,  James  Harper,  William  Poppedwell,  Daniel 

Hannibel,  and  James  Giles  were  all  wounded  on 

the   Badger,  Nazer  being   wounded   on   the   left 

shoulder  by  a  musket  ball.    The  smuggler's  crew 

had  made  ludicrous  efforts  to  pretend  they  were 

350 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

Dutch.  Dutch  names  were  assumed,  but  witnesses 
at  the  trial  were  able  to  assign  to  them  their 
proper  appellations,  and  it  was  significant  that  the 
crew  spoke  English  without  a  foreign  accent. 
Her  commander  insisted  his  name  was  Reymas, 
but  his  real  name  was  Joseph  Wills,  and  he  had 
been  foremost  in  the  calling  for  quarter.  Another 
of  the  crew,  who  pretended  his  name  was  Jan 
Schmidt,  was  found  to  be  an  Englishman  named 
John  Smith.  The  vessel  herself  had  been  built  by 
a  Kentishman,  living  at  Flushing,  the  previous 
year. 

And  here  is  another  of  those  occasions  when 
there  was  displayed  an  excess  of  zeal,  though 
under  the  circumstances  who  would  blame  the 
Preventive  officer  for  what  he  did  ?  In  February 
of  1824,  a  man  named  Field  and  his  crew  of  three 
came  out  from  Rye — that  hotbed  of  smugglers — 
and  intended  to  proceed  to  the  well-known  trawl- 
ing ground  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  S.  W.  of  Rye, 
abreast  of  Fairlight,  but  about  five  or  six  miles  out 
from  that  shore.  Unfortunately  it  fell  very  calm, 
so  that  it  took  them  some  time  to  reach  the 
trawling  ground,  and  even  when  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  tide  they  did  arrive  there,  the  wind 
was  so  scant  that  it  was  useless  to  shoot  the  trawl 
in  the  water.  Naturally,  therefore,  it  was  a  long 
time  before  they  had  obtained  their  cargo  of  flat 
fish,  and  when  a  little  breeze  sprang  up  they  had  to 

get  back  to  Rye,  as  their  provisions  had  run  short. 

351 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGLGERS 

On  their  way  back,  when  they  were  only  about 
four  or  five  miles  from  their  harbour,  they  fell  in 
with  a  small  open  sailing-boat  named  the  Rose, 
containing  four  or  five  men.  Field's  bigger  craft 
was  hailed  by  the  Rose  and  asked  to  be  taken 
in  tow,  as  they  also  had  run  short  of  provisions, 
and  were  anxious  to  get  back  to  harbour  at  once. 
Field's  boat  took  one  of  their  crew  on  board, 
whilst  the  rest  remained  in  the  Rose  and  were 
towed  astern.  It  was  now  about  four  or  five  in 
the  morning,  and  they  had  not  proceeded  more 
than  another  couple  of  miles  before  they  were 
hailed  again,  but  this  time  by  a  boat  under  the 
command  of  a  Preventive  officer  named  Lipscomb, 
who  had  been  sent  by  Lieutenant  Gammon,  R.N., 
from  the  revenue  cruiser  Cameleon.  The  cutter's 
boat  bumped  alongside  Field's  craft,  which  was 
called  the  JDicnnond.  After  making  fast,  Lipscomb 
and  his  boat's  crew  jumped  aboard,  and  announced 
that  they  suspected  the  Diamond  was  fitted 
with  concealments,  and  he  wished  to  examine  her. 
But  after  rummaging  the  ship  nothing  suspicious 
was  found.  Lipscomb  then  explained  that  he  had 
been  ordered  by  Lieutenant  Gammon  to  take 
the  Diamond  and  to  bring  her  alongside  the 
Cameleon  and  then  to  order  Field  and  his 
crew  to  go  aboard  the  cruiser  as  prisoners. 

This,  of  course,  did   not  lead  to  harmony  on 

board.     Lipscomb  attempted  to  seize  hold  of  the 

tiller,  so  as  to  steer  the  vessel  back  to  Hastings 

352 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

Roads,  where  the  cruiser  was  lying,  l^ut  F'ield 
turned  to  him  and  said — 

"  I  don't  know  about  your  having  the  helm. 
You  don't  know  where  the  cutter  is  any  more  than 
I  do." 

With  that,  Field  pushed  the  man  aside,  grasped 
hold  of  the  tiller,  and  shoved  it  hard  up,  and 
bearing  away,  ran  the  vessel  out  seawards.  But 
after  keeping  on  this  course  for  twenty  minutes 
they  fell  in  with  the  Cameleon,  and  the  two 
vessels  came  near  to  each  other.  The  cruiser's 
commander  shouted  to  Lipscomb,  and  ordered  him 
to  get  into  the  cruiser's  galley,  which  had  been 
towing  astern  of  the  Diamond  all  this  time,  and  to 
row  to  the  cruiser.  This  was  done,  and  then 
Lipscomb  received  his  orders.  He  was  to  return 
to  the  trawler  and  seize  the  hands  and  bring  them 
to  the  Cameleon.  So  the  galley  returned  again 
and  brought  the  Diamond's  crew  as  ordered.  It 
was  now  7  a.m.,  and  they  were  kept  as  prisoners  on 
the  cutter  till  9  a.m.  the  following  day.  Lipscomb 
and  his  boat's  crew  of  four  now  took  charge  of  the 
Diamond,  and  began  to  trim  sheets,  and  before  long 
the  two  craft  got  separated. 

When  Field  proceeded  on  board  the  Cameleon 
he  took  with  him  his  ship's  papers  at  the  lieu- 
tenant's orders.  He  then  ventured  to  ask  how  it 
was  that  his  smack  had  been  detained,  to  which 
Gammon  replied  that  he  had  received  information 

from  the  Collector  of  Customs  at   Rye.      Field, 

353  z 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND    SMUGGLERS 

however,  was  incredulous.     "  I  rather  doubt  your 

word,"  he  said,  whereupon  the  officer  took  out  of 

his  pocket  a  letter,  doubled  the  page  down  one  or 

two  lines,  and  showed  the  doubting  skipper  that  it 

was  as  the  lieutenant  had  stated.     Gammon  then 

went  below  and  took  Field's  papers  with  him,  and 

there  they  remained  till  the  following  morning. 

The  Cameleon  went  jogging  along,  and  having 

arrived  abreast  of  Hastings,  Gammon  sent  one  of 

his  crew  ashore  in  the  cutter's  boat,  and  later  on 

fetched  him  back.     The  object,  no  doubt,  was  to 

send  the  Diamonds  papers  ashore  to  be  examined 

as  to  their  veracity,  though  nothing  was  said  to 

Field  on  the  subject.     It  is  clear  that  the  reply 

from   the  authorities  came  back  that  the  papers 

were  found  in  order,  and  that  Field  was  not  known 

as  a  smuggler ;  for  after  the  man  who  had  been 

sent  ashore  returned,  the  Cameleon  made  sail,  and 

stood  out  to  sea  for  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles. 

She  had  lost  sight  of  the  Diamond  and  her  prize 

crew,  and  it  was  not  till  about  breakfast  time  the 

following   day  that  the  cruiser  found  the  smack 

again.     When   at  length  the  two  craft  did  come 

together,    Lipscomb    was    called    on    board    the 

cruiser  and  summoned  below  to  Gammon.     What 

exactly  the  conversation  was  never  came  out,  but 

from   subsequent    events   it   is    fairly    clear    that 

Gammon  asked  what  opinion  Lipscomb  had  been 

able  to  form  of  the  Diamond,  and  that  the  latter 

had  to   admit   she   was   a  genuine    trawler ;    for 

354 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

soon  after,  the  lieutenant  sent  the  steward  for 
Field  and  one  of  his  men  to  go  below.  The  two 
men  did  as  they  were  ordered. 

"  Good  morning,"  said  the  cruiser's  commander 
as  they  came  into  the  cabin,  "  here  are  your 
papers,  Field." 

Field  hesitated  for  a  moment ;  then  answered — 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,  as  to  taking  them.  I'm 
not  altogether  satisfied  about  being  detained  so 
long.  And  had  I  been  aboard  the  smack,  and  you 
had  refused  to  let  me  have  the  tiller,"  he  continued, 
getting  angrier  every  moment,  "  I  would  have 
shot  you  as  sure  as  you  had  been  a  man." 

"  You  may  do  as  you  please,"  came  the  com- 
mander's cool  reply,  "  about  taking  them,  but  if 
you  do  not  choose  to  take  them,  I  shall  take  you 
away  to  Portsmouth  and  give  you  up  to  the  Port 
Admiral,  and  let  him  do  with  you  as  he  thinks 
proper." 

Thinking  therefore  that  it  were  better   to  be 

discreet   and  hold    his    tongue.    Field    took    the 

papers,  went  up  again  on  deck,  collected  his  men, 

went  back  to  his  smack,  and  the  incident  ended — 

for  the  present.      But    the    Revenue    men    had 

clearly   made  an  error   this  time,  and  had  acted 

ultra  vires.     About  a  year  later  Field,  as  a  master 

and  part-owner  of  the  Diamond,  brought  an  action 

against  Gammon  for  assault  and  detention,  and  was 

awarded  a  verdict  and  £5  damages. 

It    is   curious    to    find    what    sympathy    the 
355 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

smiio-fflers  sometimes  received  in  a  section  of 
society  where  one  would  hardly  have  expected  this 
to  exist.  There  are  at  least  three  instances  of  men 
of  position  and  wealth  showing  their  feelings 
undisguisedly  in  favour  of  these  lawless  men. 
There  was  a  Lieut. -Colonel  Chichester,  who  was 
called  upon  for  explanations  as  to  his  conduct 
in  this  respect ;  there  was  the  case  also  of  the 
naval  officer  commanding  H.M.  sloop  Py lades 
being  convicted  and  dismissed  the  service  for 
protecting  smugglers,  and,  most  interesting  of  all, 
was  the  incident  which  centred  round  Sir  William 
Courtenay. 

The  facts  of  this  case  may  be  summarised 
as  follows.  On  Sunday  afternoon,  the  17th  of 
February  1833,  the  Revenue  cutter  Lively  was 
cruising  at  the  back  of  the  Goodwins,  when 
about  three  o'clock  she  descried  a  vessel  about  five 
or  six  miles  off  which  somehow  aroused  suspicions. 
The  name  of  the  latter  was  eventually  found  to  be 
the  Admiral  Hood.  At  this  time  the  sloop  was 
about  midway  between  England  and  France,  her 
commander  being  Lieutenant  James  Sharnbler, 
R.N.  The  Admii^al  Hood  was  a  small  dandy- 
rigged  fore-and-after,  that  is  to  say,  she  was  a 
cutter  with  a  small  mizzen  on  which  she  would 
set  a  lugsail.  The  Lively  gave  chase,  and  gradu- 
ally began  to  gain  on  the  other.  When  the 
Admiral  Hood  was   within  about  a  mile  of  the 

Lively,  the  former  hauled  across  the   latter,   and 

356 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

when  she  had  got  on  the  Lively  s  weather-bow 
the  Revenue  craft  immediately  tacked,  whereupon 
the  Admiral  Hood  put  about  again  and  headed 
for  the  French  coast.  After  vainly  attempting 
to  cause  her  to  heave-to  by  the  usual  Revenue 
signals,  the  Lively  was  compelled  to  fire  on  her, 
and  one  shot  was  so  well  placed  that  it  went  clean 
through  the  dandy's  sail,  and  thinking  that  this 
was  quite  near  enough  the  Admiral  Hood  hove-to. 
But  just  prior  to  this,  Lieutenant  Sharnbler 
had  ordered  an  officer  and  two  men  to  take  spy- 
glasses and  watch  her.  At  this  time  they  were 
about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  away  from  the 
North  Foreland.  One  of  the  men  looking  through 
his  glass  observed  that  the  Admiral  Hood  was  heav- 
ing tubs  overboard,  and  it  was  then  that  the  first 
musket  was  fired  for  her  to  heave- to,  but  as  the 
tubs  were  still  thrown  overboard  for  the  next 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  the  long  gun  and  the 
muskets  were  directed  towards  her.  The  two 
vessels  had  sailed  on  parallel  lines  for  a  good  hour's 
chase  before  the  firing  began,  and  the  chase  went 
on  till  about  a  quarter  to  five,  the  tide  at  this 
time  ebbing  to  the  westward  and  a  fine  strong 
sailing  breeze.  There  was  no  doubt  at  all  now 
that  she  was  a  smuggler,  for  one  of  the  Lively  s 
crew  distinctly  saw  a  man  standing  in  the  Admiral 
Hoods  hatchway  taking  tubs  and  depositing  them 
on  deck,  whilst  some  one  else  was  taking  them 
from  the  deck  and  heaving  them  overboard,  the 

357 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

tubs  being  painted  a  dark  green  so  as  to  resemble 
the  colour  of  the  waves.  As  the  Lively  came  ramp- 
ing on,  she  found  numbers  of  these  tubs  in  the  wake 
of  the  Admiral  Hood,  and  lowered  a  boat  to  pick 
them  up,   and  about  twenty-two   were   found   a 


"  The  Admiral  Hood  was  heaving  tubs  overboard." 

hundred  yards  from  the  smuggler,  and  the  Lively 
also  threw  out  a  mark-buoy  to  locate  two  other 
tubs  which  they  passed.  And,  inasmuch  as  there 
was  no  other  vessel  within  six  miles  distance,  the 
Admiral  Hood  beyond  a  shadow  of  doubt  was 
carrying  contraband. 

After  the  vessel  was  at  length  hove-to,  she  was 

358 


BY   SEA   AND   LAND 

seized  and  ultimately  taken  into  Rochester,  and 
information  was  duly  laid  against  the  persons  who 
had  been  engaged  in  this  smuggling  adventure. 
But  it  is  here  that  Sir  William  Courtenay  comes 
into  the  story.  This  gentleman,  who  had  his  seat 
at  Powderham  Castle,  Devon,  came  forward  and 
swore  positively  that  the  tubs,  which  the  Lively 
was  supposed  to  have  picked  up,  had  been  seen 
floating  off*  the  coast.  He  himself  was  staying 
on  a  visit  to  Canterbury,  and  on  that  Sunday  after- 
noon happened  to  be  sailing  about  off  the  Kentish 
coast,  and  sighted  the  Lively  about  two  o'clock. 
He  kept  her  in  sight,  he  said,  until  four  o'clock. 
He  also  saw  the  Admiral  Hood,  and  witnessed  her 
being  chased  by  the  Lively,  but  he  had  seen  the 
tubs  for  most  of  the  day,  as  they  had  come  up  with 
the  tide  from  the  westward.  With  his  own  eyes, 
and  not  through  a  spy-glass,  he  witnessed  the 
Admiral  Hood  being  captured  by  the  cruiser,  and 
followed  up  this  evidence  by  remarking  that  "  the 
tubs  I  saw  picked  up  did  not  come  out  of  the  Lord 
Hood.     I  say  so  sterling  and  plump." 

This  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  the  testimony 
as  given  by  the  crew  of  the  Lively,  so  it  was 
evident  that  some  one  was  lying.  But  to  make  a 
long  story  short,  it  was  afterwards  found  that  Sir 
William  was  not  only  not  afloat  that  afternoon, 
did  not  see  the  tubs,  did  not  see  the  two  crafts, 
but  was  miles  away  from  the  scene,  and  at  the  time 

of  the  chase  was  in  church.     He  was  accordingly 

359 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

brought  for  trial,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be 
imprisoned  for  three  calendar  months,  and  after 
the  expiration  of  this,  he  was  to  be  "  transported  to 
such  a  place  beyond  the  seas  as  his  Majesty  may 
direct,  for  the  term  of  seven  years." 

He  was  convicted  on  unmistakable  testimony 
of  having  committed  perjury ;  in  fact,  Mr.  Justice 
Parke,  in  giving  judgment  at  the  time,  remarked 
that  it  was  the  clearest  evidence  in  a  perjury  case 
that  had  ever  fallen  to  his  lot  to  try.  As  to  the 
motive,  it  was  thought  that  it  was  done  solely 
with  a  desire  to  obtain  a  certain  amount  of  popu- 
larity among  the  smugglers.  Sir  William  saw 
that  the  case  would  go  against  the  latter  unless 
some  one  could  give  evidence  for  their  side.  There- 
fore, abusing  his  own  position  and  standing,  he  came 
forward  and  perjured  himself  It  is  a  curious  case, 
but  in  the  history  of  crime  there  is  more  than  one 
instance  of  personal  pride  and  vanity  being  at  the 
root  of  wrong-doing. 


360 


CHAPTER   XIX 

ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

It  is  conscience  that  makes  cowards  of  us  all,  and 
this  may  be  said  of  smugglers  no  less  than  of  law- 
abiding  citizens.  A  trial  was  going  on  in  connec- 
tion with  a  certain  incident  which  had  occurred  in 
Cawsand  Bay,  Plymouth  Sound.  It  was  alleged 
that,  on  the  night  of  November  17,  1831,  a  man 
named  Phillips  had  been  shot  in  the  knee  whilst  in 
a  boat,  trying  with  the  aid  of  some  other  men  to 
get  up  an  anchor.  The  chief  officer  of  the  Pre- 
ventive service  at  Cawsand  was  accused  by  Phillips 
of  having  thus  injured  him,  and  the  case  in  the 
course  of  time  was  brought  into  court.  Among 
the  witnesses  was  one  whom  counsel  believed  to 
be  not  wholly  unconnected  with  smuggling. 
Whether  or  not  this  was  true  we  need  not  worry 
ourselves,  but  the  following  questions  and  answers 
are  well  worth  recording. 

Cawsand  was  a  notorious  smuggling  locality, 
and  its  secluded  bay,  with  plenty  of  deep  water 
almost  up  to  the  beach,  made  it  highly  suitable  for 
sinking  tubs  well  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 
And  then  there  must  have  been  very  few  people 

ashore  who  had  never  been  concerned  in  this  con- 

361 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

traband  trade.  In  such  villages  as  this  you  might 
usually  rely  on  the  local  innkeeper  knowing  as 
much  as  anyone  in  the  neighbourhood  on  the 
subject  of  smuggling.  Such  a  man,  then,  from 
Cawsand,  illiterate,  but  wideawake,  went  into  the 
witness-box  for  counsel  to  cross-examine,  and  the 
following  dialogue  carries  its  own  conviction : — 

Question.  "  You  are  an  innkeeper  and  sailor,  if 
I  understand  you  rightly  ? " 

Answer.  "  Yes  !  " 

Q,  "Is  that  all?" 

A.  "  Mariner  and  innkeeper." 

Q.  "  Is  that  all  the  trades  you  follow  ? " 

A.  "  Fishing  sometimes." 

Q.  "  What  do  you  fish  for  ? " 

A.  "  DifFerent  sorts  of  fish." 

Q.  "  Did  you  ever  fish  for  half- ankers  ? " 

A.  ''Half-ankers?" 

Q.  "  Casks  of  spirits — is  that  part  of  your 
fishing-tackle  ? " 

A.  "No,  I  was  never  convicted  of  no  such 
thing." 

Q.  "  I  am  not  asking  you  that.  You  know 
what  I  mean.  I  ask  whether  it  is  part  of  your 
profession." 

A.  "No,  it  was  not." 

Q.  "  You  never  do  such  things  ? " 

A.  "  What  should  I  do  it  for  ? " 

Q.   "  I   cannot  tell   you.     I  ask  you  whether 

you  do  it,  not  what  you  do  it  for." 

362 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

A.  "I  may  choose  to  resolve  whether  I  tell 
you  or  not." 

Q.  "  I  will  not  press  you  if  your  conscience  is 
tender.  You  will  not  tell  me  whether  you  do  a 
little  stroke  in  the  Fair  trade  upon  the  coast  ?  You 
will  not  answer  me  that  question  ? " 

A.  ''\  am  teUing  the  truth." 

Q.  "  Will  you  answer  that  question  ? " 

A.  "No." 

Q.  "Are  you  or  are  you  not  frequently  in 
practice  as  a  smuggler  ? " 

A.  "No!" 

And  that  was  all  that  could  be  got  out  of  a 
man  who  probably  could  have  told  some  of  the 
best  smuggling  yarns  in  Cornwall.  The  inhabitants 
so  thoroughly  loathed  the  Preventive  men  that,  to 
quote  the  words  of  the  man  who  was  chief  officer 
there  at  the  time  we  are  speaking  of,  "  the  hatred 
of  the  Cawsand  smugglers  is  ...  so  great  that 
they  scarcely  ever  omit  an  opportunity  of  showing 
it  either  by  insult  or  otherwise." 

There  was  a  kind  of  renaissance  of  smuggling 
about  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  this  was  brought  on  partly  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  vigilance  along  our  coasts  was  not  quite 
so  smart  as  it  might  have  been.  But  there  were 
plenty  of  men  doing  their  duty  to  the  service,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  account  of  Matthew  Morrissey, 
a  boatman  in  the  Coastguard  Service  at  Little- 
hampton.     About  eleven  o'clock  on  the  evening  of 

363 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

April  5,  1833,  he  saw  a  vessel  named  the  Nelson^ 
which  had  come  into  harbour  that  day.  On 
boarding  her,  together  with  another  boatman,  he 
found  a  crew  of  two  men  and  a  boy.  The  skipper 
told  him  they  were  from  Bognor  in  ballast.  Mor- 
rissey  went  below,  got  a  light,  and  searched  all 
over  the  after-cabin,  the  hold,  and  even  over- 
hauled the  ballast,  but  found  nothing.  He  then 
got  into  the  Coastguard  boat,  took  his  boat-hook, 
and  after  feeling  along  the  vessel's  bottom,  dis- 
covered that  it  was  not  as  it  ought  to  have  been. 

'*  I'm  not  satisfied,"  remarked  the  Coastguard 
to  her  skipper,  Henry  Roberts,  "  I  shall  haul  you 
ashore." 

One  of  the  crew  replied  that  he  was  "  very 
welcome,"  and  the  Coastguard  then  sent  his  com- 
panion ashore  to  fetch  the  chief  boatman.  The 
Coastguard  himself  then  again  went  aboard  the 
N^elson,  whereupon  the  crew  became  a  little  rest- 
less and  went  forward.  Presently  they  announced 
that  they  would  go  ashore,  so  they  went  forward 
again,  got  hold  of  the  warp,  and  were  going  to  haul 
on  shore  by  it  when  the  Coastguard  observed, 
"  Now,  recollect  I  am  an  officer  in  his  Majesty's 
Revenue  duty,  and  the  vessel  is  safely  moored  and 
in  my  charge  ;  and  if  you  obstruct  me  in  my  duty 
you  will  abide  by  the  consequences."  He  took  the 
warp  out  of  their  hands,  and  continued  to  walk  up 
and  down  one  side  of  the  deck  while  the  crew 

walked  the  other.     This  went  on  for  about  twenty 

364 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

minutes,  when  Henry  Roberts  came  up  just  as  the 
Coastguard  was  turning  round,  and  getting  a  firm 


"Getting  a  firmlgrip,  pushed  him 


into  the  water." 


grip,  pushed  him  savagely  aft  and  over  the  vessel's 
quarter  into  the  water.  Heavily  laden  though  the 
Coastguard  was  with  a  heavy  monkey-jacket,  petti- 
coat canvas  trousers  over  his  others,  and  with  his 

365 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

arms  as  well,  he  had  great  difficulty  in  swimming, 
but  at  last  managed  to  get  to  the  shore.  The 
chief  boatman  and  the  other  man  were  now  arriv- 
ing, and  it  was  found  that  the  Nelsons  crew  had 
vanished.  The  vessel  was  eventually  examined, 
and  found  to  have  a  false  bottom  containing  thirty- 
two  tubs  of  liquor  and  twenty-eight  flagons  of 
foreign  brandy.  Roberts  was  later  on  arrested, 
found  guilty,  and  transported  for  seven  years. 

A  few  pages  back  we  witnessed  an  incident  off 
Hastings.  On  the  5th  of  January  1832,  a  much 
more  serious  encounter  took  place.  Lieutenant 
Baker,  R.N.,  was  cruising  at  that  time  in  the 
Revenue  cutter  Ranger  off  the  Sussex  coast,  when 
between  nine  and  ten  in  the  evening  he  saw  a 
suspicious  fire  on  the  Castle  Hill  at  Hastings. 
Believing  that  it  was  a  smuggler's  signal,  he  de- 
spatched his  four-oared  galley,  with  directions  to 
row  between  Eccles  Barn  and  the  Martello  Tower, 
No.  39.  At  the  same  time  the  Ranger  continued 
to  cruise  off  the  land  so  as  to  be  in  communication 
with  the  galley.  About  1  a.m.  a  report  was  heard 
from  the  Hastings  direction,  and  a  significant  blue 
light  was  seen  burning.  Baker  therefore  took 
his  cutter  nearer  in-shore  towards  the  spot  where 
this  light  had  been  seen.  He  immediately  fell  in 
with  his  galley,  which  had  shown  the  blue  light, 
and  in  her  he  found  about  two  hundred  casks  of 
different  sizes  containing  foreign  spirits,  and  also 

five  men  who  had  been  detained  by  the  galley. 

366 


ACTION  AND  COUNTER  ACTION 

The  men  of  course  were  taken  on  board  the 
cruiser,  and  as  the  morning  advanced,  the  Ranger 
again  stood  into  the  shore  so  that  the  lieutenant 
might  land  the  spirits  at  the  Custom  House.  Then 
getting  into  his  galley  with  part  of  his  crew,  the 
tubs  were  towed  astern  in  the  cutter's  smaller 
boat.  But  on  reaching  the  beach,  he  found  no 
fewer  than  four  hundred  persons  assembled  with 
the  apparent  intention  of  preventing  the  removal 
of  the  spirits  to  the  Custom  House,  and  especially 
notorious  among  this  gang  were  two  men,  named 
respectively  John  Pankhurst  and  Henry  Stevens. 
The  galley  was  greeted  with  a  shower  of  stones, 
and  some  of  the  Revenue  men  therein  were  struck, 
and  had  to  keep  quite  close  to  the  water's  edge. 
Stevens  and  Pankhurst  came  and  deposited  them- 
selves on  the  boat's  gunwale,  and  resisted  the  re- 
moval of  the  tubs.  Two  carts  now  came  down  to 
the  beach,  but  the  mob  refused  to  allow  them  to 
be  loaded,  and  stones  were  flying  in  various  direc- 
tions, one  man  being  badly  hurt.  Lieutenant 
Baker  also  received  a  violent  blow  from  a  large 
stone  thrown  by  Pankhurst. 

But  gradually  the  carts  were  loaded  in  spite  of 
the  opposition,  and  just  as  the  last  vehicle  had 
been  filled,  Pankhurst  loosened  the  bridle-back  of 
the  cart  which  was  at  the  back  of  the  vehicle 
to  secure  the  spirits,  and  had  not  the  Revenue 
officers  and  men  been  very  smart  in  surrounding 
the  cart  and  protecting  the  goods,  there  would  have 

367 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

been  a  rescue  of  the  casks.  Ultimately,  the  carts 
proceeded  towards  the  Custom  House  pursued  by 
the  raging  mob,  and  even  after  the  goods  had  been 
all  got  in  there  was  a  good  deal  of  pelting  with 
stones  and  considerable  damage  done.  Yet  again, 
when  these  prisoners,  Pankhurst  and  Stevens,  were 
brought  up  for  trial,  the  jury  failed  to  do  their 
duty  and  convict.  But  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of 
that  time  remarked  that  he  would  not  allow 
Stevens  and  Pankhurst  to  be  discharged  until  they 
had  entered  into  their  recognisances  to  keep  the 
peace  in  £20  each. 

But  next  to  the  abominable  cruelties  perpe- 
trated by  the  Hawkhurst  gang  related  in  an  earlier 
chapter,  I  have  found  no  incident  so  utterly  brutal 
and  savage  as  the  following.  I  have  to  ask  the 
reader  to  turn  his  imagination  away  from  Sussex, 
and  centre  it  on  a  very  beautiful  spot  in  Dorset- 
shire, where  the  cliffs  and  sea  are  separated  by  only 
a  narrow  beach.  On  the  evening  of  the  28th 
of  June  1832,  Thomas  Barrett,  one  of  the 
boatmen  belonging  to  the  West  Lulworth  Coast- 
guard, was  on  duty  and  proceeding  along  the  top 
of  the  cliff  towards  Durdle,  when  he  saw  a  boat 
moving  about  from  the  eastward.  It  was  now 
nearly  10  p.m.  He  ran  along  the  cliff,  and  then 
down  to  the  beach,  where  he  saw  that  this  boat  had 
just  landed  and  was  now  shoving  off  again.  But 
four  men  were  standing  by  the  water,  at  the  very 

spot   whence   the    boat    had   immediately   before 

368 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

pushed  off.  One  of  these  men  was  James  Davis, 
who  had  on  a  long  frock  and  a  covered  hat  painted 
black. 

Barrett  asked  this  little  knot  of  men  what 
their  business  was,  and  why  they  were  there  at 
that  time  of  night,  to  which  Davis  replied  that 
they  had  "  come  from  Weymouth,  pleasuring ! " 
Barrett  observed  that  to  come  from  Weymouth 
(which  was  several  miles  to  the  westward)  by 
the  east  was  a  "  rum  "  way.  Davis  then  denied 
that  they  had  come  from  the  eastward  at  all, 
but  this  was  soon  stopped  by  Barrett  remarking 
that  if  they  had  any  nonsense  they  would  get 
the  worst  of  it.  After  this  the  four  men  went 
up  the  clifF,  having  loudly  abused  him  before  pro- 
ceeding. On  examining  the  spot  where  the  boat 
had  touched,  the  Coastguard  found  twenty-nine 
tubs  full  of  brandy  lying  on  the  beach  close  to 
the  water's  edge,  tied  together  in  pairs,  as  was 
the  custom  for  landing.  He  therefore  deemed  it 
advisable  to  burn  a  blue  light,  and  fired  several 
shots  into  the  air  for  assistance. 

Three  boatmen  belonging  to  the  station  saw 
and  heard,  and  they  came  out  to  his  aid.  But 
by  this  time  the  country-side  was  also  on  the 
alert,  and  the  signals  had  brought  an  angry  crowd 
of  fifty  men,  who  sympathised  with  the  smugglers. 
These  appeared  on  the  top  of  the  cliff,  so  the 
four  coastguards  ran  from  the  tubs  (on  the  beach) 
to  the   cliff  to  prevent  this   mob  from   coming 

369  2  a 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

down  and  rescuing  the  tubs.  But  as  the  four 
men  advanced  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  they  hailed 
the  mob  and  asked  who  they  were,  announcing 
that  they  had  seized  the  tubs.  The  crowd  made 
answer  that  the  coastguards  should  not  have  the 
tubs,  and  proceeded  to  fire  at  the  quartette  and 
to  hurl  down  stones.  A  distance  of  only  about 
twenty  yards  separated  the  two  forces,  and  the 
chief  boatman  ordered  his  three  men  to  fire  up 
at  them,  and  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  this 
affray  continued. 

It  was  just  then  that  the  coastguards  heard 
cries  coming  from  the  top  of  the  cliff — cries  as 
of  some  one  in  great  pain.  But  soon  after  the 
mob  left  the  cliff  and  went  away ;  so  the  coast- 
guards went  down  to  the  beach  again  to  secure 
and  make  safe  the  tubs,  where  they  found  that 
Lieutenant  Stocker  was  arriving  at  the  beach  in 
a  boat  from  a  neighbouring  station.  He  ordered 
Barrett  to  put  the  tubs  in  the  boat  and  then  to 
lay  a  little  distance  from  the  shore.  But  after 
Barrett  had  done  this  and  was  about  thirty  yards 
away,  the  lieutenant  ordered  him  to  come  ashore 
again,  because  the  men  on  the  beach  were  bring- 
ing down  Lieutenant  Knight,  who  was  groaning 
and  in  great  pain. 

What  had  happened  to  the  latter  must  now 

be  told.     After  the  signals  mentioned  had  been 

observed,    a   man   named   Duke    and   Lieutenant 

Knight,  R.N.,  had  also  proceeded  along  the  top 

370 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

of  the  cliff.  It  was  a  beautiful  starlight  night, 
with  scarcely  any  wind,  perfectly  still  and  no  moon 
visible.  There  was  just  the  sea  and  the  night 
and  the  cliffs.  But  before  they  had  gone  far  they 
encountered  that  mob  we  have  just  spoken  of  at 
the  top  of  the  cliff.  Whilst  the  four  coastguards 
were  exchanging  fire  from  below.  Lieutenant 
Knight  and  Duke  came  upon  the  crowd  from 
their  rear.  Two  men  against  fifty  armed  with 
great  sticks  6  feet  long  could  not  do  much.  As 
the  mob  turned  towards  them,  Lieutenant  Knight 
promised  them  that  if  they  should  make  use  of 
those  murderous-looking  sticks  they  should  have 
the  contents  of  his  pistol. 

But  the  mob,  without  waiting,  dealt  the  first 
blows,  so  Duke  and  his  officer  defended  them- 
selves with  their  cutlasses.  At  first  there  were 
only  a  dozen  men  against  them,  and  these  the 
two  managed  to  beat  off.  But  other  men  then 
came  up  and  formed  a  circle  round  Knight  and 
Duke,  so  the  two  stood  back  to  back  and  faced 
the  savage  mob.  The  latter  made  fierce  blows  at 
the  men,  which  were  warded  off  by  the  cutlasses 
in  the  men's  left  hands,  two  pistols  being  in  the 
right  hand  of  each.  The  naval  men  fired  these, 
but  it  was  of  little  good,  though  they  fought  like 
true  British  sailors.  Those  6-foot  sticks  could 
reach  well  out,  and  both  Knight  and  Duke  were 
felled  to  the  ground. 

Then,  like  human  panthers  let  loose  on  their 
371 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

prey,  this  brutal,  lawless  mob  with  uncontrolled 
cruelty  let  loose  the  strings  of  their  pent-up 
passion.  They  kept  these  men  on  the  ground 
and  dealt  with  them  shamefully.  Duke  was 
being  dragged  along  by  his  belt,  and  the  crowd 
beat  him  sorely  as  he  heard  his  lieutenant  ex- 
claim, "  Oh,  you  brutes  !  "  The  next  thing  which 
Duke  heard  the  fierce  mob  to  say  was,   "  Let's 

kill  the and  have  him  over  the  cliff."     Now 

the  cliff  at  that  spot  is  100  feet  high.  Four 
men  then  were  preparing  to  carry  out  this  com- 
mand— two  were  at  his  legs  and  two  at  his  hands 
— when  Duke  indignantly  declared,  "  If  Jem  was 
here,  he  wouldn't  let  you  do  it." 

It  reads  almost  like  fiction  to  have  this  dramatic 
halt  in  the  murder  scene.  For  just  as  Duke 
was  about  to  be  hurled  headlong  over  the  side, 
a  man  came  forward  and  pressed  the  blackguards 
back  on  hearing  these  words.  For  a  time  it  was 
all  that  the  new-comer  could  do  to  restrain  the 
brutes  from  hitting  the  poor  fellow,  while  the 
men  who  still  had  hold  of  his  limbs  swore  that 
they  would  have  Duke  over  the  cliff.  But  after 
being  dealt  a  severe  blow  on  the  forehead,  they 
put  him  down  on  to  the  ground  and  left  him 
bleeding.  One  of  the  gang,  seeing  this,  observed 
complacently,  "  He  bleeds  well,  but  breathes 
short.  It  will  soon  be  over  with  him,"  And  with 
that  they  left  him. 

The  man  who  had  come  forward  so  miraculously 

372 


ACTION  AND   COUNTER-ACTION 


Let's  .  .  .  have  him  over  the  cliff.' 


373 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

and  so  dramatically  to  save  Duke's  life  was 
James  Cowland,  and  the  reason  he  had  so  acted 
was  out  of  gratitude  to  Duke,  who  had  taken 
his  part  in  a  certain  incident  twelve  months  ago. 
And  this  is  the  sole  redeeming  feature  in  a  glut 
of  brutality.  It  must  have  required  no  small 
amount  of  pluck  and  energy  for  Cowland  to 
have  done  even  so  much  amid  the  wild  fanati- 
cism which  was  raging,  and  smuggler  and  ruffian 
though  he  was,  it  is  only  fair  to  emphasize  and 
praise  his  action  for  risking  his  own  life  to  save 
that  of  a  man  by  whom  he  had  already  benefited. 

But  Cowland  did  nothing  more  for  his  friend 
than  that,  and  after  the  crowd  had  indulged 
themselves  on  the  two  men  they  went  off  to  their 
homes.  Duke  then,  suffering  and  bleeding,  weak 
and  stunned,  crawled  to  the  place  where  he  had 
been  first  attacked — a  little  higher  up  the  cliff — 
and  there  he  saw  Knight's  petticoat  trousers,  but 
there  was  no  sign  of  his  officer  himself. 

After  that  he  gradually  made  his  way  down  to 

the  beach,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff  he  came  upon 

Knight  lying  on  his  back  immediately  below  where 

the  struggle  with  the  smugglers  had  taken  place. 

Duke  sat  down  by  his  side,  and  the  officer,  opening 

his  eyes,  recognised  his  man  and  asked,  "  Is  that 

you  ? "     But  that  was  all  he  said.     Duke  then  went 

to  tell  the  coastguards  and  Lieutenant  Stocker  on 

the  beach,  who  fetched  the  dying  man,  put  him 

into  Lipscomb's  boat,  and  promptly  rowed  him  to 

374 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 

his  home  at  Lulworth,  where  he  died  the  next 
day.  It  is  difficult  to  write  cahnly  of  such  an 
occurrence  as  this :  it  is  impossible  that  in  such 
circumstances  one  can  extend  the  slightest  sym- 
pathy with  a  race  of  men  who  probably  had  a  hard 
struggle  for  existence,  especially  when  the  fishing 
or  the  harvests  were  bad.  The  most  one  can  do 
is  to  attribute  such  unreasoning  and  unwarranted 
cruelty  to  the  ignorance  and  the  coarseness  which 
had  been  bred  in  undisciplined  lives.  Out  of 
that  seething,  vicious  mob  there  was  only  one 
man  who  had  a  scrap  of  humanity,  and  even  he 
could  not  prevent  his  fellows  from  one  of  the 
worst  crimes  in  the  long  roll  of  smugglers'  delin- 
quencies. 

The  days  of  smugglers  were,  of  course,  coinci- 
dent with  the  period  of  the  stage-coach.  In  the 
year  1833  there  was  a  man  named  Thomas  Allen, 
who  was  master  and  part-owner  of  a  coasting 
vessel  named  the  Good  Intent,  which  used  to 
trade  between  Dover  and  London.  In  February 
of  that  year  Thomas  Becker,  who  happened  to  be 
the  guard  of  the  night  coaches  running  between 
Dover  and  London,  came  with  a  man  named 
Tomsett  to  Allen,  and  suggested  that  the  latter 
should  join  them  in  a  smuggling  transaction, 
telling  him  that  they  knew  how  to  put  a  good 
deal  of  money  into  his  pocket.  At  first  Allen 
hesitated  and  declined,  but  the  proposal  was  again 

renewed    a    few   days    later,   when    Allen   again 

375 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

declined,  as  it  was  too  risky  a  business.  But  at 
length,  as  "  trade  was  very  bad,"  both  he  and  a 
man  named  Sutton,  one  of  his  crew,  agreed  to 
come  into  the  scheme.  What  happened  was  as 
follows  : — 

The  Good  Intent  left  Dover  on  February 
23,  went  as  far  as  the  Downs  about  two  miles 
from  the  coast,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  took 
on  board  from  a  French  vessel,  which  was  there 
waiting  by  appointment,  about  forty  bales  of  silk. 
In  order  to  be  ready  to  deal  with  these,  the 
Good  Intent  had  been  provided  with  sufficient 
empty  crates  and  boxes.  The  silks  were  put  into 
these,  they  were  addressed  to  some  persons  in 
Birmingliam,  and,  after  being  landed  at  one  of  the 
London  quays  as  if  they  had  come  from  Dover, 
they  were  sent  across  to  the  Paddington  Canal,  and 
duly  arrived  at  their  destination.  Allen's  share  of 
that  transaction  amounted  to  about  £80.  He  had 
done  so  well  that  he  repeated  the  same  practice  in 
April  and  May ;  but  in  June  some  tea  which  he 
brought  in  was  seized,  and  although  he  was  not 
prosecuted  yet  it  gave  him  a  fright.  But  after 
being  entreated  by  the  two  tempters,  he  repeated 
his  first  incident,  took  forty  more  bales  on  board, 
and  arrived  at  the  Port  of  London.  But  the 
Custom  House  officials  had  got  wind  of  this, 
and  when  the  Good  Intent  arrived  she  was 
searched.  In  this  case  the  goods  had  not  been 
put  into  crates,  but  were  concealed  in  the  ballast, 

376 


ACTION   AND   COUNTER-ACTION 


the  idea  being  not  to  land  them  in  London  but  to 
bring  them  back  under  the  ballast  to  Dover. 

The  first  remark  the  Customs  officer  made  was. 


''Under  cover  of  darkness  took  on  board  .  .  .  forty 
bales  of  silk." 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  more  ballast  here  than  is 
necessary  for  such  a  ship,"  and  promptly  began 
moving  the  same.  Of  course  the  goods  w^ere  dis- 
covered, and  of  course  Allen   pretended  he  knew 

377 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

nothing  about  the  forty  bales  being  there  con- 
cealed.    They  were  seized  and  condemned. 

Becker  sfot  to  hear  of  this  disaster  and  that  a 
warrant  was  out  for  his  own  arrest,  so  he  quickly 
hopped  across  to  Calais.  An  officer  was  sent  both 
to  Deal  and  to  Dover  to  find  Tomsett,  but  found 
him  not,  so  he  crossed  over  to  Calais,  and 
among  the  first  people  whom  he  saw  on  Calais  pier 
were  Tomsett  and  Becker  walking  about  together. 
The  officer  had  no  wish  to  be  seen  by  Becker,  but 
the  latter  saw  him,  and  came  up  and  asked  him 
how  he  was  and  what  he  was  doing  there.  The 
officer  made  the  best  excuse  he  could,  and  stated 
that  he  had  got  on  board  the  steam-packet  and 
been  brought  off  by  mistake. 

"  Oh,  I  am  here  in  consequence  of  that  rascal 
Allen  having  peached  against  us,"  volunteered 
Becker,  and  then  went  on  to  say  that  he  was  as 
innocent  as  the  child  unborn.  However,  the  judge, 
at  a  later  date,  thought  otherwise,  and  imposed  a 
penalty  of  £4750,  though  the  full  penalty  really 
amounted  to  the  enormous  sum  of  £71,000. 


378 


CHAPTER   XX 

FORCE   AND    CUNNING 

A  SMUGGLING  vessel  was  usually  provided  with 
what  was  called  a  tub-rail — that  is  to  say,  a  rail 
which  ran  round  the  vessel  just  below  the  gun- 
wale on  the  inside.  When  a  vessel  was  about  to 
arrive  at  her  destination  to  sink  her  tubs,  the  pro- 
ceeding was  as  follows.  The  tubs  were  all  made 
fast  to  a  long  warp,  and  this  warp  with  its  tubs 
was  placed  outside  the  vessel's  bulwarks,  running 
all  round  the  ship  from  the  stern  to  the  bows  and 
back  again  the  other  side.  This  warp  was  kept 
fastened  to  the  tub-rail  by  five  or  seven  lines  called 
stop-ropes.  Consequently  all  the  smugglers  had 
to  do  was  to  cut  these  stop-ropes,  and  the  tubs 
and  warp  would  drop  into  the  water,  the  stone 
weights  immediately  sinking  the  casks. 

Bearing  this  in  mind,  let  us  see  the  Revenue 
cutter  Tartar,  on  the  night  between  the  3rd 
and  4th  of  April  1839,  cruising  off  Kimeridge, 
between  St.  Alban's  Head  and  Weymouth,  and  a 
little  to  the  east  of  where  Lieutenant  Knight  was 
murdered,  as  we  saw  in  the  last  chapter.     About 

1.40  A.M.   Lieutenant  George  Davies,  R.N.,  the 

379 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Tartars  commander,  was  below  sleeping  with 
his  clothes  and  boots  on,  when  he  heard  the  officer 
of  the  watch  call  for  him.  Instantly  he  went  on 
deck  and  saw  a  smuggling  vessel.  She  was  then 
about  thirty  yards  away  and  within  a  mile  of  the 
shore.  Her  name  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the 
French  sloop  Diane. 

It  was  rather  a  warm,  thick  night,  such  as  one 
sometimes  gets  in  April  when  the  weather  has 
begun  to  get  finer.  By  the  time  that  the  cruiser's 
commander  had  come  up  on  deck,  both  the  cutter 
and  the  Diane  were  hove-to,  and  the  vessels 
were  close  alongside.  When  first  sighted  by  the 
boatswain  the  smuggler  was  standing  out  from 
the  land.  The  Tartar's  boat  was  now  launched 
into  the  water,  and  the  bo'sun  and  two  men  pulled 
off  in  her  and  boarded  the  Diane,  and  then 
came  back  to  fetch  Lieutenant  Davies.  The  instant 
the  latter  boarded  the  Diane,  he  saw  one  of  the 
latter  s  crew  throwing  something  overboard.  He 
stooped  down  to  pick  something  up,  when  Davies 
rushed  forward  and  caught  him  round  the  body  as 
something  fell  into  the  water,  and  a  tub-hoop,  new, 
wet,  and  green,  was  taken  from  him.  Davies  called 
to  his  bo'sun  to  bring  a  lantern,  so  that  he  might 
identify  the  seized  man  and  then  proceed  to  search 
the  vessel. 

A  tub-rail  and  stop-rope  were  found  on  board, 

and,  on  going  below,   the  hold  was  found  to  be 

strewn  with  chips  of  tub-hoops  and  pieces  of  stones 

380 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

for  sinking.  The  upper  deck  was  similarly  strewn, 
while  by  the  hatchway  were  found  sinker-slings. 
These  sinkers  in  actual  employment  were  accus- 
tomed to  be  suspended  and  hitched  round  the 
warp  at  about  every  sixth  tub.  The  Diane's 
master  was  asked  where  his  boat  was  since  none 
was  found  aboard,  but  there  was  no  satisfactory 
answer.  Tub-boards  for  fixing  on  deck  so  as  to 
prevent  the  tubs  from  rolling  overboard  were  also 
found,  so  altogether  there  was  sufficient  reason  for 
seizing  the  vessel,  which  was  now  done.  She  was 
taken  into  Weymouth  and  her  crew  brought  before 
a  magistrate.  And  in  that  port  the  tub-boat  was 
also  found,  for  the  smugglers  had  doubtless  sent 
most  of  their  cargo  ashore  in  her  whilst  the 
Diane  was  cruising  about  between  there  and 
St.  Alban's  Head.  It  was  significant  that  only 
three  men  were  found  on  board,  whereas  smuggling 
vessels  of  this  size  (about  twenty  to  thirty  tons) 
usually  carried  eight  or  nine,  the  explanation  being 
that  the  others  had  been  sent  out  with  the  tub- 
boat.  But  the  rest  of  the  cargo  had  evidently 
been  hurriedly  thrown  overboard  when  the 
Tartar  appeared,  and  because  these  casks  were 
thrown  over  so  quickly,  fifty-nine  of  them  had 
come  to  the  surface  and  were  subsequently  re- 
covered. But  besides  these,  154  casks  were  also 
found  on  one  sling  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  close 
to  where  the  Diane  had  been  arrested,  for  at  the 

time  when  this  occurrence  had  taken  place  the 

381 


KING'S   CUTTERS    AND   SMUGGLERS 

Tartars  men  had  been  careful  at  once  to  take 
cross  bearings  and  so  fix  their  position. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  smugghng 
events  was  that  which  occurred  in  the  Medway. 
About  eight  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  March  27, 
1839,  a  smack  called  the  Mary  came  running  into 
the  river  from  outside.  At  this  time  it  was 
blowing  very  hard  from  the  N.E.,  and  the  tide 
was  ebbing,  so  that  of  course  wind  would  be 
against  tide  and  a  certain  amount  of  sea  on.  But 
it  was  noticed  by  the  coastguard  at  Garrison 
Point,  which  commands  the  entrance  to  this  river, 
that  the  Mary  had  got  far  too  much  sail  up — 
whole  mainsail  as  well  as  gafF-topsail.  Consider- 
ing it  was  a  fair  wind  and  there  was  a  good  deal 
of  it,  there  was  far  more  canvas  than  was  neces- 
sary, even  allowing  for  the  tide. 

It  was  a  rule  that  all  vessels  entering  the 
Medway  should  bring-to  off  Garrison  Point,  and 
allow  themselves  to  be  boarded  and  searched,  if 
required  by  certain  signals.  In  order  to  compel 
the  Mary  so  to  do,  the  coastguard  at  this  point 
fired  a  shot  and  rowed  off  to  meet  her.  But  the 
smack  held  on.  She  was  steering  straight  for 
the  Isle  of  Grain,  and  showed  no  intention  of 
starboarding  her  helm  so  as  to  get  on  a  proper 
course  up  the  Medway.  Another  shot  was  fired, 
and  yet  she  held  on.  Now  there  were  some  of 
her  Majesty's  ships  lying  near  the  Grain,  which 

is  on  the  starboard  hand  as  you  pass  up  the  river, 

382 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

viz.  the  Dcedalus  and  the  Alfred.  These  vessels 
were  of  course  swung  with  the  tide,  and  between 
the  Dcedcdus  and  the  Isle  of  Grain  the  smack 
manoeuvred. 

A  third  shot  now  came  whizzing  by  from  the 
boat  that  was  rowing  hard  against  the  tide,  and 
the  smack  came  round  between  the  Alfi^ed  and 


"  Another  shot  was  fired." 


Dcedalus.  The  coastguard  then  boarded  the  Mary, 
and  the  master  said  he  was  from  Brightlingsea. 
He  pretended  that  he  thought  the  firing  was 
not  from  the  coastguard,  but  from  a  ship  at  the 
Little  Nore,  which  is  the  channel  that  runs 
up  to  Garrison  Point  from  the  Nore  Lightship. 
This  was  curious,  for  the  Mary  had  been  in  the 
habit    of    going    up    the    Medway,   and   hitherto 

had   always  hove-to   off  Garrison   Point   for   the 

383 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUCxGLERS 

coastguard  to  come  aboard.  Her  skipper  excused 
his  action  by  stating  that  he  was  frightened  of 
heaving- to  as  he  might  have  carried  away  his 
mast  and  gone  ashore,  if  he  had  hauled  up  and 
gybed. 

But  it  was  pointed  out  that  it  was  a  foolish  and 
unsafe  course  for  the  Mary  to  steer  between  the 
Dcedalus  and  the  Grain  Island,  especially  as  it 
was  a  dark  night  without  any  moon,  and  blowing 
very  hard.  But  on  going  aboard,  the  coastguard 
was  not  surprised  to  detect  a  strong  smell  of  gin, 
as  if  spirits  had  quite  recently  been  removed  from 
the  smack.  And  after  making  a  search  there  was 
nothing  found  on  board  except  that  she  was  in 
a  great  state  of  confusion.  None  the  less  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  place  a  couple  of  officers  on 
board  her  to  accompany  her  up  to  Rochester. 
This  was  on  the  Friday  night,  and  she  arrived 
at  Rochester  the  same  day. 

On  the  Sunday  it  occurred  to  the  officers  to 
search  for  the  spirits  which  they  were  sure  the 
Mary  had  on  board,  so  they  proceeded  to  that 
spot  by  the  Doedalus  where  the  Mary  had  luffed 
round  and  met  the  coastguard  boat.  After  sweep- 
ing for  half-an-hour  they  found  115  tubs  slung 
together  to  a  rope  in  the  usual  manner.  At 
each  end  of  the  rope  was  an  anchor,  and  be- 
tween these  anchors  was  a  number  of  tubs,  and 
in   between   each   pair  of  tubs  were  stones.     So 

the  Mary  had  gone  into  that  little  bight  in  order 

384 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

that  she  might  throw  her  tubs  overboard,  which 
would  be  sunk  by  the  stones,  and  the  two  anchors 
would  prevent  them  from  being  drifted  away  by 
the  tide.  The  warp,  it  was  thought,  had  been 
in  the  first  instance  fastened  to  the  tub-rail  in 
the  manner  we  have  already  described,  and  at  the 
third  gun  the  stop-ropes  were  cut,  and  the  whole 
cargo  went  with  a  splash  into  the  water,  and  the 


^  ~ 


Methods  employed  by  Smugglers  for  Anclioring  tubs  thrown  Overboard. 

vessel  sailed  over  the   tubs  as  they  sank  to  the 
muddy  bottom. 

The  usual  way  to  get  these  tubs  up  was  of 
course  by  means  of  grapnels,  or,  as  they  were 
called,  "  creepers."  But  the  spot  chosen  by  the 
Mary  was  quite  close  to  the  moorings  of  the 
Dcedalus,  so  that  method  would  only  have  fouled 
the  warship's  cables.  Therefore  the  following 
ingenious  device  was  used.  A  large  heavy  rope 
was  taken,  and  at  each  end  was  attached  a  boat. 
The  rope  swept  along  the  river-bed  as  the  boats 

385  2  B 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

rowed  in  the  same  direction  stretching  out  the 
rope.  Before  long  the  bight  of  this  rope  found 
the  obstructing  tubs,  stones,  warp,  and  anchor,  and 
that  having  occurred,  the  two  boats  rowed  close 
together,  and  a  heavy  iron  ring  was  dropped  over 
the  two  ends  of  the  rope,  and  thus  sank  and 
gripped  the  rope  at  the  point  where  it  met  with 
the  obstruction.  All  that  now  remained,  therefore, 
was  to  pull  this  double  rope  till  the  obstruction 
came  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  water.  And  in 
this  manner  the  articles  which  the  3Iary  had 
cast  overboard  were  recovered. 

She  was  obviously  a  smuggler,  as  besides  this 
discovery  she  was  found  to  be  fitted  with  conceal- 
ments, and  fourteen  tholes  were  found  on  board 
"muffled"  with  canvas  and  spun  yarn,  so  as  to 
be  able  to  row  silently.  Her  skipper,  Wilhani 
Evans,  was  duly  prosecuted  and  found  guilty ; 
and  it  was  during  the  course  of  this  trial  that 
the  interesting  dialogue  occurred  between  counsel 
and  the  coastguard  as  to  whether  the  first  warning 
gun  fired  was  always  shotted  or  not.  As  we 
have  already  discussed  this  point,  we  need  not 
let  it  detain  us  now. 

The  year  1849  was  interesting,  as  it  witnessed 
the  seizing  of  one  of  the  earliest  steamcraft  on 
a  charge  of  smuggling.  Very  late  in  the  day  of 
May  15  the  steam-tug  Royal  Charter,  employed 
in  towing  vessels  in  and  out  of  Portsmouth 
harbour,   had    been   taken    to    Spithead    without 

386 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

the  permission  of  her  owner,  and  information  was 
given  to  the  coastguard.  About  midnight  she 
was  first  discovered  steaming  towards  the  port 
with  a  small  boat  attached  to  her  stern,  being 
then  about  half  a  mile  from  the  harbour.  Chase 
was  then  made  and  the  vessel  hailed  and  ordered 
to  heave-to.  She  replied  that  she  would  round-to 
directly,  but  in  fact  she  held  on  and  steamed 
at  full  speed,  notwithstanding  that  several  shots 
were  fired  at  her.  As  she  entered  Portsmouth 
harbour  she  was  pursued  by  the  Customs  boat, 
who  asked  them  to  shut  off  steam  and  be  examined. 
Of  course  full  speed  in  those  days  meant  nothing 
very  wonderful,  and  it  was  not  long  before  she 
was  boarded.  She  had  a  crew  of  three,  and  there 
were  ten  men  in  the  boat  towing  astern,  most  of 
whom  were  found  to  have  been  previously  con- 
victed of  smuggling.  It  seems  strange  to  find 
a  steamboat  pursuing  the  old  tactics  of  the  sailing 
smacks,  but  in  her  wake  there  were  found  150 
half-ankers  within  about  300  yards  of  her  and 
where  she  had  passed.  The  vessel  and  boat  were 
seized,  and  the  men  taken  before  the  magistrates 
and  convicted. 

But  the  following  is  an  instance  of  steam  being 
employed  against  smugglers.  One  Sunday  towards 
the  end  of  October  1849,  about  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  local  receiver  of  duties  informed 
the  tide  surveyor  at  St.  Heliers,  Jersey,  that 
there  was  a   cutter  which   (from  information  re- 

387 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

ceivcd)  he  was  convinced  was  loaded  with  brandy. 
This  cutter  was  in  one  of  the  bays  to  the  N.W. 
of  the  island.  But  as  the  wind  was  then  blowing 
from  the  W.N.W.  and  a  very  heavy  surf  was 
rolling  in,  the  consent  of  the  harbour-master  was 
obtained  to  use  the  steam-tug  Polka  to  go  round 
in  search  of  her,  the  understanding  being  that 
she  was  to  be  paid  for  if  a  seizure  were  made. 
The  wind  and  sea  were  so  boisterous  that  the 
Revenue  boat  could  not  have  been  used. 

Steamer  and  officers  therefore  proceeded  round 
the  coast  till  they  reached  Plemont  Bay,  about 
twenty  miles  from  St.  Helier,  and  there  they 
found  a  small  cutter  lying  at  anchor  close  under 
the  cliff,  but  with  no  one  on  board.  The  steamer 
lowered  a  boat  and  found  the  cutter  to  be  the 
Lion  of  Jersey,  five  tons,  with  four  hogsheads  and 
seven  quarter  casks  of  brandy.  The  officers  then 
weighed  anchor,  and  by  sailing  and  towing  got 
her  round  to  St.  Helier  harbour,  where  she  was 
dismantled,  and  the  brandy  and  her  materials 
lodged  at  the  Custom  House.  This  little  craft 
had  come  from  Dielette  in  France,  and  as  Plemont 
Bay  was  a  very  secluded  locality,  she  would  have 
run  her  goods  there  with  perfect  success,  had  she 
not  been  discovered  while  her  crew  were  on  shore, 
whither  they  had  probably  gone  for  the  purpose 
of  making  arrangements  for  getting  the  cargo 
landed. 

But  by  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  so 
388 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

thoroughly  had  the  authorities  gripped  the  smug- 
ghng  evil  that  these  men  were  actually  sometimes 
afraid  to  take  advantage  of  what  fortune  literally 
handed  out  to  them.  The  schooner  JValte?^  of 
Falmouth  was  bound  on  a  voyage  from  Liverpool 
to  Chichester  with  a  cargo  of  guano  on  May  30, 
1850.  Her  crew  consisted  of  Stephen  Sawle, 
master,  Benjamin  Bowden,  mate,  Samuel  Banister, 
seaman,  and  George  Andrews,  boy.  On  this  day 
she  was  off  Lundy  Island,  when  Andrews  espied 
a  couple  of  casks  floating  ahead  of  the  schooner 
and  called  to  the  master  and  mate,  who  were 
below  at  tea.  They  immediately  came  up  on 
deck,  and  the  master  looked  at  the  kegs  through 
his  glass,  saying  that  he  thought  they  were  pro- 
visions. 

The  three  men  then  got  out  the  ship's  boat, 
rowed  after  the  casks  and  slung  them  into  the 
boat,  and  brought  them  on  board.  In  doing  so 
the  mate  happened  to  spill  one  of  them,  which 
contained  brandy.  This  gave  the  skipper  some- 
thing of  a  fright,  and  he  directed  the  mate  and 
seaman  to  throw  the  casks  overboard.  They  both 
told  him  they  thought  he  was  a  great  fool  if  he  did 
so.  He  gave  the  same  orders  a  second  time  and 
then  went  below,  but  after  he  had  remained  there 
for  some  time,  he  said  to  his  crew,  "  If  you  will  all 
swear  that  you  will  not  tell  anybody,  I  will  risk 
it."  They  all  solemnly  promised,  the  master  swear- 
ing the  mate,  the  seaman,  and  the  boy  on  the  ship's 

389 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Bible  that  they  would  not  tell  the  owner  or  any 
living  creature. 

Presently  the  mate  and  Banister  removed  the 
hatches  and  handed  up  about  two  tiers  of  guano, 
sent  the  casks  of  brandy  below  and  placed  bags  on 
their  top.  After  the  master  had  been  below  a 
couple  of  hours,  he  asked  whether  the  casks  were 
out  of  sight.  The  mate  and  Banister  replied  that 
they  were,  whereupon  the  master  took  a  candle, 
examined  the  hold,  and  afterwards  the  sleeping- 
berths,  but  he  could  not  see  anything  of  the 
brandy.  He  then  went  to  the  boy  and  said, 
"  Mind  you  don't  let  Mr.  Coplin  [the  owner]  know 
anything  about  this  business,  for  the  world." 

The    vessel   arrived    at  Falmouth  on    Sunday 

morning,  the    2nd  of  June,    and  brought   up   off 

the  Market  Strand.     At  six  in  the  morning  the 

boy  went   ashore   and  returned   about   midnight. 

The  mate  was  on  board  and  addressed  him  thus, 

*'  You  knew  very  well  what  was  going  on  and 

ought  to  have  been  on  board  before  this."     For  at 

that  time  both  the  master  and  Banister  were  ashore. 

On  Monday  the  boy  went  down  to  the  hold  and 

saw  the  brandy  was  gone,  and  the  same  night  about 

half-an-hour  before  midnight  the  mate  and  Banister 

brought  four  gallons  of  the  brandy  to  where  the 

boy  was   lodging,    as   his   share.     The   youngster 

complained  that  it  was  very  little,  to  which  Banister 

replied  that  one  of  the  casks  had  leaked  amongst 

the  cargo  of  guano  or  he  would  have  had  more. 

390 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

Ostensibly  the  schooner  had  put  into  Falmouth 
for  repairs.  Later  on  the  Custom  House  officers 
got  to  hear  of  it,  but  it  was  then  the  month  of 
July,  and  the  schooner  had  since  sailed  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Liverpool. 

On  the  1st  of  October  of  this  same  year  a 
highly  ingenious  device  was  discovered  through  a 
hitch,  which  unfortunately  ruined  the  smugglers' 
chances.  In  its  broad  conception  it  was  but  a 
modification  of  an  idea  which  we  have  already 
explained.  In  its  application,  however,  it  was 
unique  and  original.  At  half-past  six  on  this 
morning  a  fore-and-aft-rigged  vessel  was  observed 
to  be  sailing  into  Chichester  harbour.  When  first 
discovered,  she  was  about  a  mile  from  Hay  ling 
Island.  She  was  boarded,  as  smuggled  goods  were 
supposed  to  have  been  taken  by  her  from  a  raft  at 
sea.  Manned  by  a  master  and  a  crew  of  two,  all 
English,  she  was  well  known  in  that  neighbourhood. 
She  was  registered  at  Portsmouth  as  the  Rival. 

Her  cargo  was  found  to  consist  of  a  few  oysters 

and  thirteen  tubs  of  spirits,  but  these  were  attached 

to  the  stern  in  a  most  ingenious  manner.     By  her 

stern-post  was  an  iron  pipe,  and  through  this  pipe 

ran  a  chain,  one  end  of  which  was  secured  at  the 

top,  close  to  the  tiller,  the  other  end  running  right 

down  into  the  water  below  the  ship.     Attached  to 

the  chain  in  the  water  were  thirteen  tubs  wrapped 

in  canvas.     The  theory  was  this.     As  the  vessel 

sailed  along,  the  chain  would  be  hauled  as  tight  as  it 

391 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 


would  go,  so  that  the  casks  were  kept  under  the  ves- 
sel's stern  and  below  water.  Now,  having  arrived 
in  Chichester  harbour,  the  helmsman  had  suddenly- 
let  go  the  chain,  but  the  latter  had  unhappily 
jammed  in  the  pipe,  and  the  tubs  were  thus  dragged 


-POST  SEEN  ?-ROH 
Be  LOW. 


CHAIN    LEDTMF50UGH 
TUBE  FORMINQ  P1HTL£ 


y^jga^yv-e^y^y  vA,ys^ft  .^a^^V^a^^jv^a, 


13  CASKS      IN  CANVAS  COVER 


The  RivaPs  Ingenious  Device  (see  text). 

with  a  large  scope  of  chain.  The  coastguard  in 
coming  alongside  used  his  boat-hook  underneath, 
and  thus  caught  hold  of  the  chain  and  tubs.  The 
vessel  was  now  soon  laid  ashore,  and  when  her 
bottom  was  examined,  the  whole  device  was  dis- 
covered. It  had  only  quite  recently  been  added, 
but  the  crew  were  notorious  smugglers,  so  they  got 

themselves  into  trouble  in  spite  of  their  ingenuity. 

392 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

And  now  let  us  bring  this  list  of  smuggling 
adventures  to  an  end  with  the  activities  of  a  very- 
ubiquitous  French  sloop  named  the  Georges,  which 
came  into  prominent  notice  in  the  year  1850.  Her 
port  of  departure  was  Cherbourg,  and  she  was  wont 
to  run  her  goods  across  to  the  south  coast  of 
England  with  the  greatest  impudence.  In  piecing 
together  this  narrative  of  her  adventures,  it  has 
been  no  easy  task  to  follow  her  movements,  for  she 
appeared  and  disappeared,  then  was  seen  some- 
where else  perhaps  a  hundred  miles  away  in  a  very 
short  time. 

It  appears  that  on  April  19  the  Geo7^ges,  whose 
master's  name  was  Gosselin,  cleared  from  Cherbourg, 
and  two  days  later  was  sighted  by  the  commander 
of  the  Revenue  cutter  Cameleon  off  Bembridge 
Ledge,  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  about 
eight  or  nine  miles  E.S.E.  After  she  had  come  up 
she  was  boarded  by  the  Cameleon,  and  was  found  to 
have  one  passenger,  whom  the  Cameleon  s  com- 
mander described  as  an  Englishman  "  of  a  most 
suspicious  appearance."  But  after  being  searched 
she  was  found  perfectly  "  clean "  and  free  from 
any  appearance  of  tubs  or  smell  of  spirits.  The 
Revenue  cutter's  commander  therefore  formed  the 
opinion  that  the  Georges  was  fitted  with  some  con- 
cealments somewhere.  In  order  to  discover  these, 
it  would  be  essential  for  the  craft  to  be  hauled 
ashore.     He  therefore  did  not  detain  her,  but,  as 

she  was  bound  for  Portsmouth,  put  an  officer  and  a 

393 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

couple  of  men  aboard  her  till  she  should  arrive  at 
that  port.  One  thing  which  had  aroused  suspicions 
was  the  finding  on  board  of  exceptionally  large  fend- 
offs.  These  were  just  the  kind  which  were  used 
by  smuggling  ships  accustomed  to  be  met  at  sea 
by  smaller  craft,  into  which  the  casks  were  trans- 
ferred and  then  rowed  ashore.  And  what  was 
more  suspicious  still  was  the  fact  that  these  fend- 
ofFs  were  found  wet ;  so  they  had  most  probabl}^ 
been  used  recently  in  a  seaway  when  some  tub- 
boats  had  been  alongside  the  Georges. 

Somehow  or  other,  when  she  arrived  at  Ports- 
mouth, although  the  matter  was  duly  reported,  it 
was  not  thought  necessary  to  haul  her  ashore,  but 
she  was  carefully  examined  afloat.  The  English 
passenger  found  aboard  gave  the  name  of  Mitchell, 
but  he  was  suspected  of  being  Robinson,  a 
notorious  Bognor  smuggler.  And  it  was  now 
further  believed  that  the  Geo7ges  had  sunk  her 
"crop "of  tubs  somewhere  near  the  Owers  (just 
south  of  Selsey  Bill),  as  on  the  morning  of  the  day 
when  the  Cameleon  sighted  her  a  vessel  answer- 
ing her  description  was  seen  in  that  vicinity. 

On  that  occasion,  then,  the  Georges  could  not 

be  detained,  and  we  next  hear  of  her  on  INIay  3, 

when  again  she  set  forth  from  Cherbourg.     She 

had  no  doubt  taken  on  board  a  fine  cargo,  for  she 

had  a  burthen  of  thirty-one   tons,   and  this  she 

managed  in  some  mysterious  manner  to  land  in 

England.     There  can  be  no  doubt  that  she  did 

394 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

succeed  in  hoodwinking  the  Revenue  service  for 
a  time,  but  it  is  probable  that  she  employed 
largely  the  method  of  sinking  the  tubs,  which  were 
afterwards  recovered  in  the  manner  already  familiar 
to  the  reader.  At  any  rate.  Lieutenant  Owen,  R.N., 
writing  on  May  9  from  the  Ryde  coastguard 
station  to  Captain  Langtry,  R.N.,  his  inspecting 
commander,  reported  that  this  Georges  had  arrived 
off  Ryde  pier  that  morning  at  seven  o'clock.  She 
had  five  Frenchmen  on  board  besides  Gosselin.  It 
was  found  that  her  tub -boat  was  a  new  one,  and 
when  she  arrived  this  was  on  deck,  but  it  had  since 
been  hoisted  out,  and  Gosselin,  having  been  brought 
ashore,  crossed  by  the  Ryde  steamer  to  Portsmouth 
at  9  A.M. 

What  business  he  transacted  in  Portsmouth 
cannot  be  stated  definitely,  but  it  is  no  foolish 
guess  to  suggest  that  he  went  to  inform  his  friends 
at  what  spot  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight  he  had  deposited  the  casks  of  spirits  a  few 
hours  previously.  However,  Gosselin  did  not 
waste  much  time  ashore,  for  he  had  returned,  got 
up  anchor  and  sails,  and  was  off  Bembridge  Ledge 
by  five  in  the  afternoon,  at  which  time  the 
Georges  was  sighted  by  Captain  Hughes,  com- 
manding the  Revenue  cutter  Petrel.  The 
Georges  was  boarded  and  searched,  and  there 
was  a  strong  smell  of  brandy  noticed,  and  it  was 
clear  that  her  tub-boat  had  been  recently  used. 

Somewhere — somehow — she  had  recently  got  rid 

395 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

of  her  "  crop,"  but  where  and  when  could  not 
be  ascertained.  The  Georges  master  protested 
that  he  was  very  anxious  to  get  back  to  Cherbourg 
as  quickly  as  possible ;  and  as  there  was  nothing 
definite  found  on  board  this  foreign  craft,  Captain 
Hughes  decided  to  release  her. 

That  was  on  May  9,  then.  But  exactly  a 
week  later  this  same  Georges  came  running  into 
Torbay.  On  arrival  here  she  was  found  to  have 
no  tub-boat,  although  in  her  inventory  she  was 
said  to  have  a  boat  21  feet  long  and  9  feet  broad. 
Some  of  her  crew  were  also  absent,  which  looked 
still  further  suspicious.  Still  more,  she  was  found 
to  have  battens  secured  along  her  bulwarks  for  the 
purpose  of  lashing  tubs  thereto.  This  made  it 
quite  certain  that  she  was  employed  in  the 
smuggling  industry,  and  yet  again  there  was  no 
definite  reason  for  arresting  this  foreign  ship.  We 
pass  over  the  rest  of  May  and  June  till  we  come 
to  the  last  day  of  July.  On  that  date  the  lieu- 
tenant in  charge  of  the  coastguard  at  Lyme  (West 
Bay)  reported  that  he  had  received  information 
from  Lieutenant  Davies  of  the  Beer  station  that  a 
landing  of  contraband  goods  was  likely  to  be  at- 
tempted on  the  Branscombe  station,  which  is  just 
to  the  west  of  Beer  Head.  It  was  probable  that 
this  would  take  place  on  either  the  1st  or  2nd 
of  August,  and  at  night.  Orders  were  therefore 
given  that  a  vigilant  look-out  should  be  kept  in 

this   neighbourhood.     Nothing   occurred    on    the 

396 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

first  of  these  dates,  but  about  twenty  minutes  past 
eleven  on  the  night  of  August  2  reports  and  flashes 
of  pistols  were  heard  and  seen  on  the  Sidmouth 
station  as  far  as  Beer  Head. 

These  were  observed  by  Lieutenant  Smith  and 
his  crew,  who  were  in  hiding ;  but,  unfortunately, 
just  as  one  of  the  coastguards  was  moving  from 
his  hiding-place  he  was  discovered  by  a  friend 
of  the  smugglers,  who  instantly  blazed  off  a 
fire  on  the  highest  point  of  the  cliff.  However, 
Lieutenant  Smith  did  not  waste  much  time, 
and  quickly  had  a  boat  launched.  They  pulled 
along  the  shore  for  a  distance  of  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  beach,  and  continued  so  to  do 
until  2.30  A.M.,  but  no  vessel  or  boat  could  be 
seen  anywhere.  But  as  he  believed  a  landing 
was  taking  place  not  far  away,  he  sent  in- 
formation east  and  west  along  the  coast.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  a  landing  did  occur  not  far  away, 
but  it  was  not  discovered.  An  excise  officer, 
however,  when  driving  along  the  Lyme  road, 
actually  fell  in  with  two  carts  of  tubs  escorted  by 
fifteen  men.  This  was  somewhere  about  midnight. 
He  then  turned  off  the  road  and  proceeded  to 
Sidmouth  as  fast  as  he  could,  in  order  to  get  assist- 
ance, as  he  was  unarmed.  From  there  the  chief 
officer  accompanied  him,  having  previously  left 
instructions  for  the  coastguard  crew  to  scour  the 
country  the  following  morning.     But  the  excise 

and  chief  officer  after  minutely  searching  the  cross- 

397 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

roads  found  nothing,  and  lost  track  of  the  carts  and 
fifteen  men. 

That  time  there  had  been  no  capture,  and  the 
smugglers  had  got  clean  away.  But  the  follow- 
ing night  'Lieutenant  Smith  went  afloat  with 
his  men  soon  after  dark,  and  about  half-past  ten 


"Taken  completely  by  surprise." 

observed  a  signal  blazed  off  just  as  on  the  previ- 
ous evening.  Knowing  that  this  was  a  warning 
that  the  smuggling  vessel  should  not  approach 
the  shore,  Smith  pulled  straight  out  to  sea,  hop- 
ing, with  luck,  to  fall  in  with  the  smuggling 
craft.  Happily,  before  long  he  discovered  her 
in  the  darkness.  She  appeared  to  be  cutter- 
rigged,    and    he    promptly    gave    chase.      At    a 

distance  of  only  two  miles  from  the  shore  he  got 

398 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

up  to  her,  for  the  night  was  so  dark  that  the 
cutter  did  not  see  the  boat  until  it  got  right 
alongside,  whereupon  the  smugglers  suddenly- 
slipped  a  number  of  heavy  articles  from  her  gun- 
wale. Taken  completely  by  surprise,  and  very 
confused  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  the  coastguard's 
boat,  Lieutenant  Smith  was  able  to  get  on 
board  their  ship  and  arrest  her.  It  was  now 
about  11.15  P.M. 

But,  having  noticed  these  heavy  splashes  in 
the  water,  the  lieutenant  was  smart  enough  in- 
stantly to  mark  the  place  with  a  buoy,  and  then 
was  able  to  devote  his  attention  entirely  to  his 
capture.  He  soon  found  that  this  was  the 
Georges  of  Cherbourg.  She  was  manned  by  three 
Frenchmen,  and  there  were  still  hanging  from 
the  gunwale  on  either  quarter  a  number  of 
heavy  stones  slung  together,  such  as  were  em- 
ployed for  sinking  the  tubs.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  Georges'  intention  had  been  .to 
come  near  enough  to  the  shore  to  send  her  tubs 
to  the  beach  in  her  tub-boat,  as  she  had  almost 
certainly  done  the  night  before.  But  hearing 
the  coastguard  galley  approaching,  and  being 
nervous  of  what  they  could  not  see,  the  tubs 
were  being  cast  into  the  sea  to  prevent  seizure. 

Although  no  tubs  were  found  on  board,  yet 

it  was  significant  that  the  tub-boat  was  not  on 

board,  having  evidently  been  already  sent  ashore 

with  a  number  of  casks.     There  was  a  small  12-feet 

399 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

dinghy   suspended   in   the   rigging,    but   she   was 

obviously  not   the  boat  which  the   Gcoi^ges  was 

accustomed  to  use  for  running  goods.     Lieutenant 

Smith  for  a  time  stood  off  and  on  the  shore,  and 

then  ran  along  the  coast  until  it  was  day,  hoping 

to   Ml   in  with   the   tub-boat.      Just   as   he   had 

captured   the    Georges   another   coastguard   boat, 

this  time  from  the  Beer  station,  came  alongside, 

and  so  the  officer  sent  this  little  craft  away  with 

four  hands  to  search  diligently  up  and  down  the 

coast,   and   to   inform   the   coastguards    that   the 

tub-boat  had  escaped.     When  it  was  light,  Smith 

took  the  Georges  into  Lyme  Cobb,  and  her  crew 

and   master    were    arrested.      She   had    evidently 

changed  her  skipper  since  the  time  when  she  was 

seen   off  the   Hampshire  shore,  for  the  name  of 

her  present  master  was  Clement  Armel.     They 

were  landed,  taken   before  the   magistrates,  and 

remanded.     But    subsequently    they    were   tried, 

and    sentenced   to   six  months'  hard  labour  each 

in  Dorchester  gaol,  but  after  serving  two  months 

of  this  were  released  by  order  of  the  Treasury. 

On    the    5th     of    August     the     boats     from 

Lieutenant  Smith's  station  at  Branscombe  went 

out   to    the    spot   where   the    Georges   had   been 

captured  and  the  mark-buoy  with  a  grapnel   at 

the   end   of  it   had   been    thrown.      There    they 

crept  for  a  time  and  found  nothing.     But  it  had 

been  heavy  weather,  and  probably  the  tubs  had 

gone  adrift  without   sinkers   to   them.      At   any 

400 


FORCE   AND   CUNNING 

rate   no    landing   was   reported   along   the   shore, 
so  it  was  doubtful  if  the  tub-boat  had  managed 
to  get  to  land.     As  to  the  Geoi^ges  herself,  she 
was  found  to  be  almost  a  new  vessel.     She  was 
described  as  a  handsome  craft,   "and  very  much 
the   appearance   of  a  yacht,  and  carries  a  white 
burgee   at   her   masthead  with  a  red  cross  in  it, 
similar  to  vessels  belonging  to  the  Yacht  Club." 
The  reference  to  the  "Yacht  Club"  signifies 
the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron,  which  was  originally 
called   the    Royal   Yacht   Club.      In   those   days 
the  number   of  yachts   was   very   few    compared 
with    the    fleets    afloat    to-day.       Some    of   the 
Royal  Yacht  Club's  cutters  were  faster  than  any 
smuggler  or  Revenue  craft,   and  it  was  quite  a 
good   idea   for   a   smuggler  built  with  yacht-like 
lines  to  fly  the   club's  flag  if  he  was  anxious  to 
deceive    the    cruisers    and    coastguards    by    day. 
Some  years  before  this  incident  there  was  found 
on  board  a  smuggling  lugger  named  the  Maria, 
which    was    captured    by    the    Revenue    cruiser 
Prince  of    Wales   about  the  year  1830,  a  broad 
red    pendant    marked    with    a    crown    over    the 
letters  "  R.Y.C.,"  and  an  anchor  similar  to  those 
used   by   the    Royal   Yacht   Club,      One   of  the 
3Iaria''s  crew  admitted  that  they  had  it  on  board 
because  they  thought  it  might  have  been  service- 
able to  their  plans.      The   point   is   not   without 
interest,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  never  before 

been  raised. 

401  2  c 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

But  to  conclude  our  narrative  of  the  Georges. 
As  it  was  pointed  out  that  she  was  such  a  fine 
vessel,  and  that  Lyme  Cobb  (as  many  a  seafaring 
man  to-day  knows  full  well)  was  very  unsafe  in 
a  gale  of  wind,  it  was  suggested  that  she  should 
be  removed  to  Weymouth  "  by  part  of  one  of 
the  cutters'  crews  that  occasionally  call  in  here." 
So  on  the  7th  of  September  in  that  year  she 
was  fetched  away  to  Weymouth  by  Lieutenant 
Sicklemore,  R.N.  She  and  her  boat  were  valued 
at  £240,  but  she  was  found  to  be  of  such  a 
beautiful  model  that  she  was  neither  destroyed 
nor  sold,  but  taken  into  the  Revenue  service  as 
a  cutter  to  prevent  the  trade  in  which  she  had 
been  so  actively  employed. 

And  so  we  could  continue  with  these  smug- 
gling yarns ;  but  the  extent  of  our  limits  has 
been  reached,  so  we  must  draw  to  a  close.  If 
the  smuggling  epoch  was  marred  by  acts  of 
brutality,  if  its  ships  still  needed  to  have  those 
improvements  in  design  and  equipment  which 
have  to-day  reached  such  a  high  mark  of  dis- 
tinction, if  its  men  were  men  not  altogether 
admirable  characters,  at  any  rate  their  seaman- 
ship and  their  daring,  their  ingenuity  and  their 
exploits,  cannot  but  incite  us  to  the  keenest 
interest  in  an  exceptional  kind  of  contest. 


402 


APPENDICES 

APPENDIX   1 

SLOOPS   OR   CUTTERS 

The  reputed  difference  between  a  sloop  and  cutter  in  the 
eighteenth  century  is  well  illustrated  by  the  following, 
which  is  taken  from  the  Excise  Trials,  vol.  xxx.,  1st  July 
1795  to  17th  December  1795,  p.  95. 

In  Attorney-General  v.  Julyan  and  others  there  was  an 
action  to  condemn  the  vessel  Mary  of  Fowey,  brought 
under  the  provisions  of  sec.  4,  c.  47,  24  Geo.  III.,  as 
amended  by  sec.  6,  c.  50,  34  Geo.  III.  There  were  several 
counts,  including  one  with  regard  to  the  vessel  being  fitted 
with  "arms  for  resistance,"  but  the  case  turned  on  the 
question  whether  she  was  cutter-rigged  or  sloop-rigged. 
Counsel  for  the  prosecution  defined  a  cutter  as  "  a  thing 
constructed  for  swift  sailing,  which,  with  a  view  to  effect 
that  purpose,  is  to  sink  prodigiously  at  her  stern,  and  her 
head  to  be  very  much  out  of  water  .  .  .  built  so  that  she 
should  measure  a  great  deal  more  than  she  would  contain." 

Such  a  definition,  however  satisfactory  it  may  have  been 
to  the  legal  mind,  was  one  that  must  have  vastly  amused 
any  seafaring  man.  The  judge,  quoting  expert  evidence, 
explained  the  difference  between  a  cutter  and  a  sloop  as 
follows : — A  standing  or  running  bowsprit  is  common  to 
either  a  sloop  or  a  cutter,  and  a  traveller,  he  said,  was 
an    invariable    portion    of    a   cutter's   rig,    so    also    was   a 

403 


KING'S    CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

jih-tack.  The  jib-sheet,  he  ruled,  differed  however;  that 
of  a  cutter  was  twice  as  large  as  that  of  a  sloop  and 
was  differently  set.  It  had  no  stay.  A  sloop"'s  jib-sheet 
was  set  with  a  fixed  stay.  Furthermore,  in  a  cutter  the 
tack  of  the  jib  was  hooked  to  a  traveller,  and  there  was 
a  large  thimble  fastened  to  a  block  w^hich  came  across  the 
head  of  the  sail.  There  were  two  blocks  at  the  mast-head, 
one  on  each  side.  "  A  rope  passes  through  the  three  blocks 
by  which  it  is  drawn  up  to  the  halliards."  The  jib  of  a 
cutter  "  lets  down  and  draws  in  a  very  short  time."  A 
cutter  usually  had  channels  and  mortice-holes  to  fix  legs 
to  prevent  oversetting. 


404 


APPENDIX   II 

LIST   OF   CRUISERS   EMPLOYED    IN   THE    CUSTOMS 
SERVICE   FOR   THE   YEAR    1784 


Name. 

Where 

Stationed. 

Remarks. 

Lively  and  ) 
Vigilant  j 

14 

London      .     . 

These  vessels  were  the  jjroperty  of 
the  Crown.  The  Lively  cruised 
in  the  winter  half-year,  but  in 
the  summer  her  crew  did  duty 
on  board  the  Vigilant. 

Defence  .     . 

1(5 

Gravesend .     . 

On  the  Establishment. 

Success   .     . 

23 

Rochester  .     . 

)  5                                        )? 

Otter  .     .     . 

13 

Rochester .     . 

Moored  in  Standgate  Creek  to  guard 
the  Quarantine. 

Active     . 

18 

Eaversham     . 

On  the  Establishment. 

Sprightly     . 

30 

Sandwich  .     . 

Employed  by  Contract  from  May 
27,  1784. 

Greyhound  . 

17 

Sandwich  .     . 

Employed  by  Contract  from  Janu- 
ary 27,  1784. 

Scourge  .     . 

30 

Deal.     .     .     . 

Employed  by  Contract  from  Janu- 
ary 27,  1784. 

Nimble   .     . 

30 

Deal.    .     .     . 

Employed  by  Contract  from  April 
23,  1784. 

Tartar    .     . 

31 

Dover    .     .     . 

On  the  Establishment. 

Assistajivc    . 

28 

Dover    .     .     . 

Employed  by  Contract. 

Alert  .     .     . 

16 

Dover    .     .     . 

Employed  by  Contract  from  April 
22,  1784. 

Stag   .     .     . 

24 

Rye  ...    . 

On  the  Establishment. 

Hound    .     . 

30&24 

Rye  .... 

Contract.  Crew  reduced  to  24  on 
October  9,  1784. 

Surprise 

28 

Newhaven 

Contract.  Crew  reduced  to  24  on 
October  9,  1784. 

Enterprise   . 

18 

Shoreham  .     . 

Establishment  in  1784,  but  after- 
wards on  Contract. 

Falcon     .     . 

18&28 

Chichester     . 

Establishment. 

Roebuck  . 

21 

Portsmouth    . 

'' 

Antelope.     . 

11 

Portsmouth    . 

Rose   .     .     . 

30 

Southampton 

" 

405 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 


Name. 

Where 
Stationed. 

Remarks. 

Speedwell     . 

31 

f  Weymouth  J 
\Cowes .     .     j 

She  was  on  Contract  at  Weymouth 
but  was  removed  to  Cowes  on 
June  10,  1784. 

S7ran  .     .     . 

23 

Cowes   .     .     . 

Contract  from  March  C,  17S4 

Laurel    . 

20 

Poole     .     .     . 

>>                >)               )) 

Diligence     . 

32 

/Poole   .     .     \ 
\  Weymouth    / 

Contract.     Removed  from  Poole  to 

Weymouth,  March  2,  1784. 

Alarm     .     . 

26 

Exeter  .     .     . 

Contract.  Removed  from  Poole  to 
Weymouth,  March  2,  1784. 

Spider     ,     . 

28 

Dartmouth     . 

Contract.  Removed  from  Poole  to 
Weymouth,  March  2,  1784. 

Ranger   .     . 

21 

Plymouth  .     . 

Establishment. 

Wasp      .     . 

20 

Plymouth  .     . 

Contract. 

Squirrel .     . 

20 

Looe      .     .     . 

, , 

Hawke     .     . 

18&2G 

Falmouth  .     . 

Lark  . 

20 

Falmouth  .     . 

Lurcher  .     . 

30 

Penryn .     .     . 

11 

Tamer     .     , 

25 

Scilly     .     .     . 

J, 

Brilliant 

30 

St.  Ives      .     . 

jj 

Dolphin  .     . 

26 

St.  Ives      .     . 

', 

Brisk       .     . 

19 

Milford      .     . 

jj 

Repidse  .     . 

33 

Colchester 

Establishment. 

A  rgus 

24 

Harwich    .     . 

J) 

Bee     .     .     . 

16 

Harwich    .     . 

Contract. 

Hunter    .     . 

25 

Yarmouth . 

Establishment. 

Experiment . 

18 

Boston  .     .     . 

jj 

Swallow  .     . 

24 

HuU.     .     .     . 

Mermaid 

24 

Newcastle 

Eagle .     .     . 

24 

Newcastle 

" 

406 


APPENDIX   in 


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CH  I— I 


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KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLEllS 


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1.1 

Endeav 
Repulse 
Argus 
Hunter 
Bee    . 

Eagle 

Merman 

Viper 

408 


APPENDIX   IV 


> 

I— I 

X 
I— I 

Q 

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pq  -^ 

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B  S 
c 

in 
Pi 
W 


u 
w 

> 

Pi 

O 

H 


H 
O 
O 

Q 
;z; 

<1 


Rate  of  sailing 

per  hour 

in  knots  and 

fathoms. 

knots     fathoms 

9            — 

10            — 

8           — 

8  4 

10           — 

7            4 

~8           T 

10  — 

9  4 

11  - 

P 

^ 

C**        CO        0'-0<M        OCO        "^OCO        rH—i-* 

■"xlxixxxixxixxxixxlx 

♦j  t-         05         05  05  0          O  00         00  O  OS          Oi  IM         t- 

03 

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tin 

C«5          CO          CO«:iM          OO          i-HCOOCOOOO 

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a             <B 

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i2 
'3 

Thos.  White . 
Th.  Inman    . 
Ransom  &  Ridley 
Wm.  Hedgcock 
J.  B.  Good     . 
Chas.  Golder 
Ransom  &  Ridley 
W.  Good  &  Son 
Rd.  Graves    . 
Chas.  Miller . 
Th.  White      . 
Th.  White     . 
Th.  White     . 
N.  Harvey     . 
T.  White 
T.  White 
Ransom  &  Ridley 
T.  White 
T.  White 

•gSbuucx 

•<iH(NcoiooorHC-)cimcow-*,o»ocoo5-^a5co 

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s 

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Is                                                   ... 

C 

M 
O 

O 

a 

Fly  (late  iVciw  CA< 

Arrow  (late  ^ea/c 

Camekon  (lost) 

Dolphin 

Ranger 

Tartar 

Repidse 

Nimble 

Sprightly 

Sealark 

Scout    , 

Fox      . 

Endeavour   . 

Adder  (sold) 

Vigilant 

Kite      . 

Hound  (lost) 

Experiment  , 

409 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 


to 


TJ 


•S  =  <=5  g 

M    O    M    g 

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410 


APPENDIX   IV 


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APPENDIX   V 

SPECIFICATION  FOR  BUILDING  A  CUTTER  FOR  THE 
REVENUE  SERVICE  OF  THIRTY-FIVE  TONS 

{As  built  in  the  year  1838) 

Length. — From  Stem  to  Sternpost,  44  feet.  Keel  for  tonnage, 
41  feet. 

Breadth. — Extreme  from  outside  the  Plank,  14  feet  5  inches. 

Depth. — From  the  upper-part  of  the  Main  Hatch-Beam  to  the 
Ceiling  alongside  the  Keelson,  7  feet  8  inches. 

Keel. — The  Keel  to  be  of  good  sound  Elm,  in  not  more  than 
two  pieces,  with  Hook  and  Butt  Scarphs  6  feet  long,  sided 
6i  inches.  Depth  aft  12  inches,  forward  14  inches,  with  a 
false  Keel. 

Stem. — To  be  of  sound  English  Oak,  clear  of  Sap  and  all  other 
defects,  sided  5i  inches,  and  to  be  sufficiently  thick  at  the 
head  to  admit  of  a  hole  for  the  Main  Stay. 

Stern  Post. — To  be  of  sound  English  Oak,  clear  of  Sap  and  all 
other  defects,  sided  5^  inches. 

Dead  Wood. — The  Dead  Wood  both  forward  and  aft  to  be  of 
Oak,  clear  of  Sap  and  all  defects,  except  the  two  lower 
pieces  which  may  be  Elm,  and  secured  by  a  Knee  well 
bolted  through  the  Sternpost,  and  Dead  Wood  aft,  and 
Stem  and  Dead  Wood  forward. 

Floors  and  Futtocks. — To  be  sided  5^  and  not  more  than 
6  inches  apart.  The  lower  Futtocks  sided  5^  inches, 
second  Futtocks  5,  third  Futtocks  5,  and  Toptimbers  4^, 
Stantions  4  inches.  The  heels  of  the  lower  Futtocks  to 
meet  on  the  Keel,  all  the  Timber  to  be  well  grown  and 
seasoned,  clear  of  Sap  and  other  defects  ; — of  English  Oak. 
412 


APPENDIX   V 

Keelson. — The  Keelson  to  run  well  forward  and  aft,  of  sound 
Oak,  clear  of  Sap,  sided  7  Inches  and  moulded  9  inches 
Midships.  The  ends  moulded  7  inches  and  sided  6  inches. 
To  be  bolted  through  the  floors  and  Keel  with  ^  inch 
Copper  Bolts  well  clenched  on  a  ring,  under  the  Keel. 

Stantions. — Stantions  sided  4  inches  at  the  Gunwale  and  Sc- 
inches at  the  Head,  and  so  spaced  as  to  form  4  ports,  each 
side  20  inches  in  the  clear,  and  the  port  lids  hung  with 
composition  hooks  and  hinges  to  roughtree  rail  and  one 
Stantion  between  each  port,  or  more  if  necessary. 

Counter-Timbers. — To  be  sided  from  4i  to  4  inches  and  the 
Transoms  well  kneed. 

Breast-Hooks. — To  have  3  Breast-Hooks,  one  under  the  Bow- 
sprit sided  4  inches,  the  others  sided  4|^  inches,  all  of  the 
best  English  Oak,  with  arms  not  less  than  3  feet  long, 
clear  of  Sap  and  other  defects ;  the  two  lower  ones  to  be 
bolted  with  Copper  Bolts.  The  Throat  Bolt  to  be  ^  inch 
diameter,  to  go  through  the  stem  and  clenched,  and  three 
in  each  arm  of  §,  all  well  clenched  on  a  ring. 

Beams. — The  Beams  to  be  good  sound  Oak,  clear  of  all  defects, 
to  round  up  5^  inches.  The  Beam  before  and  the  Beam 
abaft  the  Mast  to  be  sided  6  inches,  and  moulded  6  inches, 
and  not  more  than  4  feet  apart,  and  to  have  two  Wood 
lodging  Knees  to  each,  also  one  Iron  hanging  Knee  to 
each  ;  the  remainder  of  the  Beams  to  be  sided  5  inches, 
and  moulded  5  inches,  and  regularly  spaced,  and  not  more 
than  three  feet  from  Centre  to  Centre,  with  two  1  inch 
dowels  in  each  end,  instead  of  dovetailing  into  the  shelf- 
piece,  with  a  f  inch  bolt  through  each  dowel,  and  an  inch 
and  quarter  hole  bored  in  the  end  of  all  the  Beams  10 
inches  in,  and  another  from  the  under  side  to  meet  it, 
then  seared  with  a  hot  Iron  to  admit  Air. 

Carlings  and  Ledgers. — To  have  2  fore  and  aft  Carlings  be- 
tween each  Beam  4  inches  by  3^,  and  a  Ledge  3^  by  3  inches 
between  the  Beams  where  required.     The  Mast  Carlings  to 
be  good  English  Oak,  4  inches  thick,  and  10  inches  broad. 
413 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Wales  and  Bottom  Plank. — The  Wales  to  be  of  English  well- 
seasoned  Oak^  3  inches  thick,  clear  of  all  defects,  with  one 
strake  of  2\  inches  thick  next  under  the  Wales,  and  one 
bilge  strake  of  2~  inch  each  side.  The  remainder  of  the 
Bottom  to  be  full  2  inches  thick  when  worked,  all  of  sound 
English  Oak,  except  the  Garboard  and  one  next  to  it 
which  may  be  of  Elm  ;  Plank  to  work  l6  feet  long  with 
6  feet  shifts,  and  two  strakes  between  each  Butt :  the  first 
strake  above  the  Wales  to  be  2  inches  thick,  the  re- 
mainder 2  inches,  paint  strake  2  inches. 

Spirketting. — The  Spirketting  to  be  2  inches  thick. 

Waterways. — The  Waterways  to  be  of  English  Oak,  3  inches 
thick,  clear  of  Sap  and  strakes,  and  not  less  than  6  inches 
broad  in  any  part. 

Plansheer. — The  Plansheer  of  good  English  Oak,  full  2  inches 
thick  when  worked,  and  to  form  the  lower  Port  Sills. 

Shelf  Pieces. — The  Shelf  Pieces  to  be  fitted  to  the  Timbers 
instead  of  working  it  over  the  Clamp,  as  heretofore,  to  be 
of  good  sound  English  Oak,  6  inches  broad,  3^  inches 
thick,  and  bolted  with  |^  inch  bolts,  two  feet  apart,  well 
clenched. 

Clamps. — The  Clamps  to  be  of  good  sound  Oak,  8  inches  broad 
and  2  inches  thick,  fitted  up  to  the  under  side  of  the  Shelf 
Pieces. 

Ceiling. — To  have  two  strakes  of  2  inch  Oak  on  the  Floor  and 
lower  Futtock  Heads,  both  sides,  and  the  Ceiling  to  be  of 
Ij  inch  Oak,  all  English,  as  high  as  one  foot  above  the 
lower  Deck ;  the  remainder  as  high  as  the  clamp,  to  be  of 
Red  Pine,  clear  of  Sap  and  other  defects,  ~  inch  thick. 

Channels. — The  Main  Channels  to  be  of  the  best  English  Oak, 

of  sufficient  breadth,  to  convey  the  rigging  clear  of  the 

Weather  Cloth  Rail,  and  3^  inches  thick  with  4  substantial 

Chainplates  with  Iron  bound  Dead-eyes  complete,  on  each 

414 


APPENDIX   V 

side.  The  two  lower  bolts  in  each  plate  to  be  1  inch  in 
diameter.  No  Bolt  in  the  Chainplate  through  the  Channel 
as  usual.  The  Chainplates  to  be  let  their  thickness  into 
the  edge  of  the  Channel,  and  an  Iron  plate  3  inches  broad, 
and  f  inch  thick,  secured  over  all  by  Small  Bolts  4|- 
inches  long. 

Ports. — To  have  4  Ports  on  each  side  properly  spaced,  and  the 
Port  Lids  hung  with  Copper  Hooks  and  Hinges. 

Bulwark. — The  Bulwark  to  be  of  Baltic  Red  Pine  1  inch  thick, 
to  be  worked  in  narrow  strakes  about  5  inches  broad.  The 
edges  grooved  and  tongued  together,  and  not  lined  as 
usual,  except  from  forward  to  bow  port. 

RouGHTREE  Rail. — To  be  of  good  clean,  straight  gi'ained  Oak 
4|^  inches  broad,  and  2^  deep,  to  be  fitted  with  a  sufficient 
number  of  Iron  Stantions  2|-  inches  long,  with  Oak  Rail 
2  inches  square  for  Weather  Cloths.  The  Roughtree  Rail 
to  be  2  feet  high  from  Deck. 

Deck. — The  Upper  Deck  to  be  of  the  best  Baltic  Red  Pine, 
full  2  inches  thick  when  worked,  clear  of  Sap,  strakes,  &c., 
and  not  more  than  5  inches  broad  each  plank.  The  plank 
under,  and  between  the  Bitts  Knees,  to  be  English  Oak 
2^  inches  thick,  the  whole  to  be  fastened  with  Copper 
Nails  of  sufficient  length. 

BiTTs. — The  Bowsprit  Bitts  to  run  down  to  the  Ceiling,  with  a 
Bolt  in  the  Keel  of  each,  and  so  placed  that  the  Bowsj^rit 
may  be  run  aft  clear  of  the  Mast  Larboard  Side.  Size  of 
the  Bitts  at  the  head  fore  and  aft  7  inches,  thwartships  6 
inches,  and  to  be  the  same  size  at  lower  part  of  Deck, 
with  a  regular  taper  to  heel.  The  Windlass  Bitts  to  be 
sided  7  inches,  and  left  broad  and  high  enough  above  the 
Deck  to  admit  of  a  Patent  Pinion  Cog,  and  Multiplying 
Wheels  to  be  fitted  to  Windlass,  with  Crank,  Handles,  &c. 
To  have  good  and  sufficient  Knees  to  all  the  Bitts.  The 
Bowsprit  Bitt  Knees  sided  6  inches,  Windlass  Bitt  Knees 
sided  5  inches. 

415 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Windlass. — The  Barrel  of  the  Windlass  to  be  of  good  sound 
English  Oak,  clear  of  all  defects,  diameter  in  the  middle 
10  inches,  and  fitted  with  Patent  Iron  Palls,  with  two 
hoops  on  each  end,  and  seasoned  Elm  W^helps  2i  inches 
thick,  hollowed  in  the  middle  for  Chain  Cable  14-  inches 
long,  taking  care  that  it  leads  far  from  the  Hawse  Holes, 
to  have  6  Iron  Plates  let  into  the  Angles  of  the  Whelps. 
The  Iron  Spindle  to  be  2  inches  Diameter,  and  to  let  into 
the  Barrel  of  the  Windlass  1 2  inches,  and  to  be  fitted  with 
Pinion,  Cog,  and  Multiplying  Wheels  and  Crank  Handles, 
to  have  two  W^indlass  ends  not  more  than  a  foot  long  each  ; 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  cut  the  Handspike  holes  where 
the  Chain  Cable  works. 

Scuppers. — To  have  2  oval  Lead  Scuppers,  each  side,  3  by  If 
inch  in  the  clear. 

Eye  Plates. — To  have  two  stout  Iron  Eye  Plates,  both  sides 
forward  for  Bowsprit,  Shrouds,  &c.  with  two  Bolts  in  each, 
and  three  Plates  both  sides  for  Runners  and  Tackles  aft, 
the  Eyes  to  reach  up  to  the  top  of  Roughtree  Rail,  and  to 
have  a  good  strong  Iron  Hanging  Knee  each  side  to  the 
Beams  abreast  the  Runners. 

Hatchways. — The  Main  Hatchway  to  be  4  feet  broad  and  3 
feet  fore  and  aft  in  the  clear.  The  Combins  3  inches  thick 
and  11  inches  broad,  let  down  on  Carlings  3  inches  thick 
and  4^  inches  broad. 

Skylights. — To  be  fitted  with  two  Skylights  with  Plate  Glass 
and  Copper  Guard,  Commanders  to  be  3  feet  long  and  2 
feet  broad  ;  Mates  Skylight  2  feet  square,  with  Plate  Glass, 
Copper  Bars  |^  diameter. 

Illuminators. — To  have  10  oblong  4  inch  Illuminators  let  into 
the  Deck  where  most  required,  and  a  5  inch  Patent  one 
over  the  Water  Closet. 

Winch. — To  have  a  Patent  Winch  round  the  Mast,  and  the 
Mast  to  be  wedged  in  the  partners. 

416 


APPENDIX   V 

Pumps. — To  be  fitted  with  two  Metal  Bilge  Pumps  3i  inch 
chamber  and  everything  complete  ;  also  one  Metal  Pump 
amidships  with  6  inch  chamber,  and  two  sets  of  Brass 
Boxes,  and  everything  requisite ;  also  a  Wash  Deck  Pump 
fitted  aft. 

Rudder. — To  have  a  good  and  sufficient  Rudder  with  two  sets 
of  Metal  Pintles  and  Braces,  and  one  Iron  Pintle  and 
Brace  at  the  head  of  the  Sternpost  above  the  Deck,  and  to 
be  fitted  with  two  good  Tillers. 

Companion. — To  be  fitted  with  a  Companion  and  Bittacle 
complete. 

Hawsepipes. — To  have  two  stout  cast  Iron  Hawsepipes  for  Chain 
Cable  4  inches  in  the  clear,  also  two  Cast  Iron  Pipes  in 
the  Deck  with  Bell  Mouth,  to  conduct  the  Chain  Cable 
below. 

Lower  Deck. — The  Lower  Deck  Beams  to  be  regularly  spaced 
and  not  more  than  4  feet  apart,  the  Deck  to  be  1^  inches 
thick,  of  good  Red  Pine,  the  Midships  part  3  feet  broad, 
to  be  fastened  to  the  Beams,  also  some  of  the  side  plank, 
the  remainder  made  into  Hatches,  the  edges  bolted 
together  with  i  inch  Iron,  the  Deck  and  Cabin  Floor 
abaft.  Main  Hatch  to  be  1  inch  thick,  and  made  into 
Hatches  where  required. 

Magazine. — To  have  a  Magazine  abaft,  properly  fitted  and  lined 
on  the  inside  with  5  lb.  Lead,  and  Double  Doors  with 
Copper  Hinges  and  Lock  to  the  outside  Door. 

Bread  Room. — To  have  Bread  Rooms  and  Flour  Bins  lined 
with  Tin  as  usual. 

Galley. — The  Galley  under  the  Fire  Hearth  to  be  coppered 
with  32  oz.  Sheet  Copper  5  feet  square,  and  the  under 
part  of  the  Upper  Deck,  Beams,  &c. ;  over  the  Boilers 
4  feet  square,  to  be  leaded  with  6  lb.  Lead. 

Lockers  and  Bins. — To  be  fitted  with  Store  Bins  and  Lockers 
from  the  Bows  to  the  Cabin  Bulkheads  between  Decks. 
417  2  D 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

Bulkheads. — To  have  Bulkheads  between  Decks  for  Com- 
mander's Cabin,  State  Room,  and  all  other  Bulkheads,  as 
is  customary  for  a  Revenue  Cruiser  of  the  3rd  class,  with 
all  DraAvers,  Cupboards,  Bed-places,  Tables,  Wash-stands, 
&c.  complete.  The  Cabin  Bulkheads  to  be  framed  in 
Panels,  all  Hinges  to  be  Brass  with  Brass  Pins. 

Bulkheads,  Hold. — To  have  Bulkheads  in  the  Hold,  for  Coals, 
Stores,  Casks,  Chain  Cables,  &c.,  and  an  opening  of  one 
inch  left  between  each  Plank  to  give  air,  except  the  Coal- 
hole which  must  be  close. 

Ladders. — To  have  a  Main  Hatch,  Fore  Hatch,  and  Cabin 
Ladder  complete. 

Cleats. — To  be  fitted  complete,  with  all  Cleats,  Cavels,  Snatch 
Cleats  with  Shieves,  Brass  coated  Belaying  Cleats,  and 
Racks  with  Belaying  Pins,  &c.,  and  an  Iron  Crutch  on 
Taffrail  for  the  Boom. 

Fastenings. — The  whole  of  the  Plank  to  be  fastened  with  good 
well  seasoned  Treenails,  and  one  ^  inch  Copper  Bolt  in 
every  Butt  from  the  Keel  up  to  the  Wales,  to  go  through 
and  clench  on  a  Ring  on  the  Ceiling,  and  the  Treenails 
drove  through  the  Ceiling,  wedged  on  the  inside  and 
caulked  outside. 

Ring  and  Eye  Bolts. — To  be  fitted  Avith  all  necessary  Ring 
and  Eye  Bolts,  as  customary  for  a  Revenue  Cruiser. 

Legs. — To  have  2  substantial  Oak  Legs  properly  fitted. 

Paint. — The  whole  of  the  Wood  Work  inside  and  out  to  have 
three  coats  of  the  best  Paint,  well  put  on. 

Hull. — The  Hull  to  be  completed  in  every  respect  as  a  Revenue 
Cruiser  of  the  3rd  Class,  and  all  Materials  found  by  the 
Contractor,  except  Copper  Sheathing  for  the  Bottom  and 
Water-Closets,  with  all  ShipAvrights',  Caulkers',  Joiners', 
Blacksmiths',  Copper-smiths',  Braziers',  Glaziers',  Plumbers' 
and  Painters'  work 

418 


APPENDIX  V 

Cathead. — To  have  an  Iron  Cathead  with  two  Shieves  strong 
enough  to  cat  the  Anchor,  and  fitted  both  sides. 

Cock. — To  have  a  Stop  Cock  fitted  forward  under  the  Lower 
Deck,  to  let  in  Water  occasionally. 

Water-Closet. — To  have  a  Patent  Water-Closet  of  Danton's 
fitted  below,  and  a  Round-house  on  Deck,  aft  Starboard 
side  complete,  with  a  Pantry  for  meat,  the  Larboard  side 
to  correspond  with  the  Round-house,  and  a  Poop  Deck 
between  both,  nailed  with  Copper  Nails ;  also  a  seat  of 
ease  on  the  Larboard  side  forward  for  the  Crew,  with  Lead 
Pipe  to  water  edge ;  the  whole  of  the  Locks  throughout 
to  be  Brass  and  Brass  Works. 

Air  Openings. — An  inch  opening  to  be  left  all  fore  and  aft 
under  the  Clamp  both  sides,  also  in  the  Ceiling  between 
the  Lower  Deck  Beams,  and  another  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  Bins,  and  one  inch  auger  hole  bored  between  the 
Timbers  in  the  run  aft  and  forward  where  lists  cannot  be 
left  out,  also  a  hole  of  one  inch  in  all  the  Timbers,  fore 
and  aft,  to  admit  air,  and  those  holes  seared  with  a  hot 
iron ;  all  Chocks  for  securing  the  frame  Timbers  together 
are  to  be  split  out  before  the  bottom  Plank  is  worked. 

The  Cutter  to  remain  in  frame  for  one  Month  before 
closed  in,  then  when  the  outside  Plank  is  worked  and  all 
the  Sap  taken  off  the  Timbers,  and  before  the  Ceiling  is 
worked,  to  give  the  Timbers  a  good  coat  of  Stockholm  Tar. 
Should  there  be  any  omission  or  want  of  more  full 
statement  in  this  Specification,  the  Contractor  is  to  under- 
stand that  the  Hull  of  the  said  Vessel  is  to  be  fitted 
and  completed  fit  for  Sea  in  every  respect  as  is  usual  for  a 
Revenue  Vessel  of  her  Class,  the  Board  finding  the  Copper 
Sheathing  and  Water-Closet. 

Defects  to  be  Amended. — Any  defects  discovered  in  the 
Timbers  or  Plank,  &c.,  by  the  Officer  or  Overseer  appointed 
by  the  Honourable  Board  of  Customs  to  survey  and  inspect 
the  same,  or  insufficient  workmanship  performed  to   the 

419  2  D  2 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

said  Cutter  during  her  buildings  the  said  defect  or  deficiency 
both  in  the  one  and  in  the  other,  shall  upon  notice  thereof 
to  the  Contractor  be  forthwith  amended,  and  the  said 
Overseer  shall  not  at  any  time  have  any  molestation  or 
obstruction  therein. 

Note. — For  a  150-ton  Revenue  Cutter  the  following  dimensions  were 
employed : — 

Length.— (Stem  to  Sternpost)  72  feet.     Keel  for  Tonnage,  68  feet. 

Breadth.— (Extreme)  22  feet  10  inches. 

Depth. — 10  feet  3  inches. 

Beams  to  be  7  inches. 

Deck  to  be  2  inches  thick. 

Four  Oak  Legs  to  be  supplied 


420 


APPENDIX   VI 


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421 


APPENDIX   VII 

LIST  OF  THE  CRUISERS  IN  THE  REVENUE  COAST- 
GUARD OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOxM  IN  THE 
YEAR    1844 


Name  of  Cruiser. 

Number  of 
Crew. 

Name  of  Cruiser. 

Number  of 
Crew. 

Shamrock  . 

45 

Badger 

16 

Kite  . 

34 

Skylark     . 

16 

Swift 

34 

Petrel 

16 

Prince  of  Wales 

34 

Racer 

15 

Wickham  . 

38 

Hamilton  . 

23 

Greyhound 

33 

Chance 

16 

Prince  Albert 

33 

Harriett    . 

14 

Royal  Oeorge 

33 

Rose  . 

14 

Mermaid  . 

33 

Adder 

14 

A  dclaide   . 

30 

Rob  Roy    . 

14 

Wellington 

33 

Eliza 

13 

Harpy 

30 

Jane, 

13 

Royal  Charlotte 

29 

Experiment 

10 

Star/  . 

29 

Albatross  . 

13 

Defence 

29 

Asp  . 

10 

Eagle 

29 

Frances 

10 

Lapwing    . 

29 

A  rrow 

10 

Sylvia 

29 

Viper 

10 

Victoria    . 

27 

Neptune    . 

10 

Lively 

23 

Sealark 

10 

Vigilant    . 

23 

Hind 

10 

Active 

23 

Liverpool  . 

10 

Camelcon   . 

21 

Maria 

12 

Fox    . 

21 

Sylph 

8 

Dolphin     . 

21 

Gertrude    . 

8 

Scout 

21 

Governor   . 

8 

Tartar 

21 

Nelson 

7 

Uawke 

21 

Princess  Royal 

7 

Ranger 

20 

Ann  , 

7 

Nimble 

17 

Fairy 

7 

Desmond   . 

17 

Ferret 

7 

Sprightly  . 

17 

Lady  of  the  Lake 

5 

Lion  . 

16 

Vulcan  (steamer) 

31 

Note. — The  size  of  the  above  varied  from  25  tons  to  164  tons. 
the  ss.  ViUcan  was  of  325  tons. 

422 


But 


APPENDIX   VIII 

No  [better  instance  of  the  strained  relationship  existing 
between  the  Royal  Navy  and  the  Revenue  Service  could 
be  found  than  the  following.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
animosity  had  begun  at  any  rate  befoi'e  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  was  very  far  from  dead  in  the 
nineteenth. 

The  first  incident  centres  round  Captain  John  Rutter, 
commander  of  "  one  of  the  smacks  or  sloops  in  the  service 
of  the  Customs  about  the  Isle  of  Wight."  He  stated  that 
on  April  24,  1699,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  he 
went  on  board  to  search  the  ship  Portland  at  Spithead, 
the  latter  having  arrived  from  France  with  a  cargo  of 
wine.  At  the  same  time  there  put  off  the  long  boat  from 
Admiral  Hopson's  Resokdion  demanding  four  hogsheads 
and  four  tierces,  which  (said  Rutter)  "  I  denied,  but  how- 
ever" they  took  it  out  by  force  and  carried  it  on  board." 
Rutter  then  went  on  to  the  Resolution  and  there  found 
the  wine  lying  on  deck.  The  Admiral  sent  for  him  aft, 
and  said  that  he  would  see  the  wine  forthcoming,  for  he 
would  write  to  the  Commissioners  of  Customs. 

Some  time  afterwards  Rutter  was  ashore  at  Portsmouth 
in  company  with  Captain  Foulks,  who  was  one  of  the 
officers  stationed  on  land.  The  latter  informed  Rutter  that 
he  was  a  rogue  for  having  informed  against  the  Admiral. 
Foulks  drew  his  sword,  and,  had  he  not  been  prevented, 
would  have  murdered  Rutter.  Apparently  Admiral  Hopson 
never  forgave  Rutter.     For,  some  months  later,  Rutter  was 

423 


KING'S   CUTTERS   AND   SMUGGLERS 

riding  off  Portsmouth  "with  my  Pendent  and  Colours 
flying,  rejoicing  for  the  happy  arrival  of  His  Maty." 
Hopson  was  being  rowed  ashore,  and  when  near  "  my 
yacht  ordered  my  pendent  to  be  taken  down.  I  being 
absent,  my  men  would  not  do  it  without  my  order,  whereon 
he  sent  his  boat  on  board  and  one  of  his  men  took  it  down. 
I  coming  on  board  to  goe  upon  my  duty  ordered  it  to  be 
hoysted  again  and  imediately  he  sent  his  boat  with  one 
of  his  Lieutenants  to  take  it  down  again  with  a  verball 
order  which  I  refused  to  lett  him  do,  but  by  strength 
overpowered  me  and  my  company  and  took  it  down  by 
force,  and  beat  us  to  ye  degree  yat  I  know  not  whether 
it  may  not  hazard  some  men's  lives,  which  I  acknowledge 
I  did  not  wear  it  in  contempt,  and  if  he  had  sent  another 
time  I  would  readily  have  obeyed  his  Order.  Now  I  humbly 
conceive  that  it  was  merely  out  of  malice  as  I  can  prove 
by  his  own  mouth." 

Arising  out  of  this  incident,  a  letter  was  sent  from  the 
Admiralty  to  the  Portsmouth  Custom  House  and  signed 
by  "J.  Burchett."  The  latter  opined  that  it  was  not  a 
fault  for  the  Custom  House  smacks  to  wear  a  pendant, 
but  pointed  out  that  the  Proclamation  of  1699  obliged 
the  Custom  House  smacks  to  wear  such  a  pendant  as  was 
distinct  from  the  King's  "  as  well  as  their  Jacks  and 
Ensigns."  Furthermore  he  suggested  that  it  had  always 
been  customary  to  strike  such  pendant  when  in  sight  of  an 
Admiral's  flag,  especially  if  demanded. 

The  second  incident  occurred  on  February  4,  1806.  The 
commanding  officer  of  H.M.  Armed  vessel  Sentinel  was  lying 
in  Shields  harbour.  He  sent  word  to  a  man  named  Stephen 
Mitchell,  who  caused  the  watch  of  the  Revenue  cutter  Kagle 
to  hoist  the  EagWs  pendant  half-mast.  Mitchell  naturally 
replied  that  he  dared  not  do  so  without  his  captain's  orders. 
Mitchell,  therefore,  sent  to  his  captain,  George  Whitehead, 
but  before  the  latter's  arrival  the  pendant  was  hauled  down 

424j 


APPENDIX   VIII 

and  carried  on  board  the  Sentinel  with  threats  that  White- 
head should  be  prosecuted  for  wearing  a  pendant.  White- 
head accordingly  wrote  to  the  Collector  and  Controller  of 
the  Customs  at  Newcastle  to  lodge  a  complaint.  The  latter, 
in  turn,  wrote  to  Lieut.  W.  Chester,  R.N.,  commanding  this 
Sentinel  gun-brig  asking  for  an  explanation.  The  naval 
officer  replied  by  referring  them  to  Articles  6  and  7  of  the 
Admiralty  Instructions  regarding  ships  or  vessels  in  the 
service  of  any  public  office,  by  which  it  was  ordei'ed  that 
they  should  wear  the  same  Ensign  and  Jack  as  ships  having 
Letters  of  Marque,  except  that  in  the  body  of  the  Jack 
or  Ensign  there  should  be  likewise  described  the  seal  of 
the  office  they  belonged  to.  All  vessels  employed  in  the 
service  of  any  public  office  were  forbidden  to  wear  pendants 
contrary  to  what  was  allowed,  and  officers  of  ships-of-war 
were  permitted  to  seize  any  illegal  colours.  Chester  con- 
tended that  the  Eagle  was  hailed  and  requested  to  lower 
her  colours  half-mast,  as  an  officer  of  the  Navy  was  being 
interred  at  South  Shields,  and  all  the  other  vessels  in  the 
harbour  "  had  their  colours  half  staff  down  ■"  except  the 
Eagle.  Because  the  latter  refused,  Chester  requested  her 
mate  to  come  on  board  the  Sentinel,  as  the  former  wished 
to  explain  why  the  colours  should  be  lowered.  An  officer 
was  thereupon  sent  on  board  the  Eagle  to  haul  them  down. 
Chester  demanded  an  apology  for  the  disrespect  to  the 
deceased  officer. 

And  one  could  easily  quote  other  similar  instances  be- 
tween H.M.S.  Princess  and  the  Revenue  cutter  Diligence: 
and  H.M.  gun-brig  Teazer  and  the  Revenue  cruiser  Hard- 
xviche. 


Printed  by  Ballantynk,  Hanson  df  Co. 
Edinburgh  &'  London 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNr 


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